UC-NRLF 


7Db 


SANTA     CRUZ 


< 

^M 

2 


Gift  oi 

Professor 
Woodbridge  Bingham 


SANTA  CRUZ 


SOUTH -SEA  IDYLS. 


BY 


CHARLES  WARREN  STODDARD. 


BOSTON: 

JAMES   R.   OSGOOD   AND   COMPANY, 

Late  Ticknor  &  Fields,  and  Fields,  Osgood,  &  Co. 
1873. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873, 

BY    CHARLES   WARREN    STODDARD, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS*:  WELCH,  BIGELOW,  &  Co., 
CAMBRIDGE. 


P5 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

IN  THE  CRADLE  OF  THE  DEEP        ....  7 

CHUMMING  WITH  A  SAVAGE. 

I.     KlNA-ANA 25 

II.     HOW    I   CONVERTED    MY   CANNIBAL    .           .  43 

III.   BARBARIAN  DAYS 57 

TABOO.  —  A  FETE-DAY  IN  TAHITI       ...  80 

JOE  OF  LAHAINA 112 

THE  NIGHT-DANCERS  OF  WAIPIO        .        .        .  128 
PEARL-HUNTING  IN  THE  POMOTOUS         .        .        .146 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  GREAT  NAVIGATOR        .        .  169 

A  CANOE-CRUISE  IN  THE  CORAL  SEA      .        .        .  184 

UNDER  A  GRASS  KOOF 197 

MY  SOUTH-SEA  SHOW 202 

THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  SUN 221 


jv  CONTENTS. 

THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  PALMS 240 

KAHELE 259 

LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LANAI 283 

IN  A  TRANSPORT 300 

A  PRODIGAL  IN  TAHITI 324 


TO  MY  DEAR  FRIEND  ANTON  ROMAN. 


THE    COCOA-TREE. 

Cast  on  the  water  by  a  careless  hand, 

Day  after  day  the  winds  persuaded  me  : 
Onward  I  drifted  till  a  coral  tree 

Stayed  me  among  its  branches,  where  the  sand 
Gathered  about  me,  and  I  slowly  grew, 
Fed  by  the  constant  sun  and  the  inconstant  dew. 

The  sea-birds  build  their  nests  against  my  root, 

And  eye  my  slender  body's  horny  case. 

Widowed  within  this  solitary  place 
Into  the  thankless  sea  I  cast  my  fruit ; 

Joyless  I  thrive,  for  no  man  may  partake 

Of  all  the  store  I  bear  and  harvest  for  his  sake. 

No  more  I  heed  the  kisses  of  the  morn ; 

The  harsh  winds  rob  me  of  the  life  they  gave  ; 

I  watch  my  tattered  shadow  in  the  wave, 
And  hourly  droop  and  nod  my  crest  forlorn, 

While  all  my  fibres  stiffen  and  grow  numb 

Beck'ning  the  tardy  ships,  the  ships  that  never  come  ! 


SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 


IN  THE  CRADLE  OF  THE  DEEP. 

ijORTY  days  in  the  great  desert  of  the  sea, 
— forty  nights  camped  under  cloud-cano- 
pies, with  the  salt  dust  of  the  waves  drift- 
ing over  us.  Sometimes  a  Bedouin  sail  flashed  for 
an  hour  upon  the  distant  horizon,  and  then  faded, 
and  we  were  alone  again  ;  sometimes  the  west,  at 
sunset,  looked  like  a  city  with  towers,  and  we  bore 
down  upon  its  glorified  walls,  seeking  a  haven  ;  but 
a  cold  gray  morning  dispelled  the  illusion,  and  our 
hearts  sank  back  into  the  illimitable  sea,  breathing 
a  long  prayer  for  deliverance. 

Once  a  green  oasis  blossomed  before  us,  —  a 
garden  in  perfect  bloom,  girded  about  with  cream- 
ing waves ;  within  its  coral  cincture  pendulous 
boughs  trailed  in  the  glassy  waters ;  from  its  hid- 
den bowers  spiced  airs  stole  down  upon  us ;  above 
all,  the  triumphant  palm-trees  clashed  their  melo- 
dious branches  like  a  chorus  with  cymbals;  yet 
from  the  very  gates  of  this  paradise  a  changeful 


8  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

current  swept  us  onward,  and  the  happy  isle  was 
buried  in  night  and  distance. 

In  many  volumes  of  adventure  I  had  read  of 
sea-perils  :  I  was  at  last  to  learn  the  full  interpre- 
tation of  their  picturesque  horrors.  Our  little 
craft,  the  Petrel,  had  buffeted  the  boisterous  waves 
for  five  long  weeks.  Fortunately,  the  bulk  of  her 
cargo  was  edible  :  we  feared  neither  famine  nor 
thirst.  Moreover,  in  spite  of  the  continuous  gale 
that  swept  us  out  of  our  reckoning,  the  Petrel 
was  in  excellent  condition,  and,  as  far  as  we  could 
judge,  we  had  no  reason  to  lose  confidence  in  her. 
It  was  the  gray  weather  that  tried  our  patience 
and  found  us  wanting;  it  was  the  unparalleled 
pitching  of  the  ninety-ton  schooner  that  disheart- 
ened and  almost  dismembered  us.  And  then  it 
was  wasting  time  at  sea.  Why  were  we  not  long 
before  at  our  journey's  end  3  Why  were  we  not 
threading  the  vales  of  some  savage  island,  and 
reaping  our  rich  reward  of  ferns  and  shells  and 
gorgeous  butterflies  ] 

The  sea  rang  its  monotonous  changes,  —  fair 
weather  and  foul,  days  like  death  itself,  followed 
by  days  full  of  the  revelations  of  new  life,  but 
mostly  days  of  deadly  dulness,  when  the  sea  was  as 
unpoetical  as  an  eternity  of  cold  suds  and  blueing. 

I  cannot  always  understand  the  logical  fitness 
of  things,  or,  rather,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  why 
some  things  in  life  are  so  unfit  and  illogical.  Of 
course,  in  our  darkest  hour,  when  we  were  gath- 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  9 

ered  in  the  confines  of  the  Petrel's  diminutive  cabin, 
it  was  our  duty  to  sing  psalms  of  hope  and  cheer, 
but  we  did  n't.  It  was  a  time  for  mutual  encour- 
agement :  very  few  of  us  were  self-sustaining,  and 
what  was  to  be  gained  by  our  combining  in  unani- 
mous despair  1 

Our  weather-beaten  skipper,  —  a  thing  of  clay 
that  seemed  utterly  incapable  of  any  expression 
whatever,  save  in  the  slight  facial  contortion  con- 
sequent to  the  mechanical  movement  of  his  lower 
jaw,  —  the  skipper  sat,  with  barometer  in  hand, 
eying  the  fatal  finger  that  pointed  to  our  doom  ; 
the  rest  of  us  were  lashed  to  the  legs  of  the  cen- 
tre-table, glad  of  any  object  to  fix  our  eyes  upon, 
and  nervously  awaiting  a  turn  in  the  state  of 
affairs,  that  was  then  by  no  means  encouraging. 

I  happened  to  remember  that  there  were  some 
sealed  letters  to  be  read  from  time  to  time  on  the 
passage  out,  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  one  of  the 
times  had  come  —  perhaps  the  last  and  only  — 
wherein  I  might  break  the  remaining  seals  and 
receive  a  sort  of  parting  visit  from  the  fortunate 
friends  on  shore. 

I  opened  one  letter  and  read  these  prophetic 
lines  :  "  Dear  child,"  —  she  was  twice  my  age,  and 
privileged  to  make  a  pet  of  me,  —  "  dear  child,  I 
have  a  presentiment  that  we  shall  never  meet 
again  in  the  flesh." 

That  dear  girl's  intuition  came  near  to  being 
the  death  of  me.  I  shuddered  where  I  sat,  over- 
1* 


10  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

come  with  remorse.  It  was  enough  that  I  had 
turned  my  back  on  her  and  sought  consolation  in 
the  treacherous  bosom  of  the  ocean ;  that,  hav- 
ing failed  to  find  the  spring  of  immortal  life  in 
human  aifection,  I  had  packed  up  and  emigrated, 
content  to  fly  the  ills  I  had  in  search  of  change ; 
but  that  parting  shot,  below  the  water-line  as  it 
were,  —  that  was  more  than  I  asked  for,  and  some- 
thing more  than  I  could  stomach.  I  returned  to 
watch  with  the  rest  of  our  little  company,  who 
clung  about  the  table  with  a  pitiful  sense  of  mo- 
mentary security,  and  an  expression  of  pathetic 
condolence  on  every  countenance,  as  though  each 
was  sitting  out  the  last  hours  of  the  others. 

Our  particular  bane  that  night  was  a  crusty  old 
sea-dog  whose  memory  of  wrecks  and  marine  dis- 
asters of  every  conceivable  nature  was  as  com- 
plete as  an  encyclopaedia.  This  "  old  man  of  the 
sea  "  spun  his  tempestuous  yarn  with  fascinating 
composure,  and  the  whole  company  was  awed  into 
silence  with  the  haggard  realism  of  his  narrative. 
The  cabin  must  have  been  air-tight,  —  it  was  as 
close  as  possible,  —  yet  we  heard  the  shrieking  of 
the  wind  as  it  tore  through  the  rigging,  and  the 
long  hiss  of  the  waves  rushing  past  us  with  light- 
ning speed.  Sometimes  an  avalanche  of  foam 
buried  us  for  a  moment,  and  the  Petrel  trembled 
like  a  living  thing  stricken  with  sudden  fear ;  we 
seemed  to  be  hanging  on  the  crust  of  a  great 
bubble  that  was,  sooner  or  later,  certain  to  burst, 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  H 

and  let  us  drop  into  its  vast,  black  chasm,  where, 
in  Cimmerian  darkness,  we  should  be  entombed 
forever. 

The  scenic  effect,  as  I  then  considered,  was  un- 
necessarily vivid ;  as  I  now  recall  it,  it  seems  to 
me  strictly  in  keeping  and  thoroughly  dramatic. 
At  any  rate,  you  might  have  told  us  a  dreadful 
story  with  almost  fatal  success. 

I  had  still  one  letter  left,  one  bearing  this  sug- 
gestive legend  :  "  To  be  read  in  the  saddest  hour." 
Now,  if  there  is  a  sadder  hour  in  all  time  than 
the  hour  of  hopeless  and  friendless  death,  I  care 
not  to  know  of  it.  I  broke  the  seal  of  my  letter, 
feeling  that  something  charitable  and  cheering 
would  give  me  strength.  A  few  dried  leaves  were 
stored  within  it.  The  faint  fragrance  of  summer 
bowers  reassured  me :  somewhere  in  the  blank 
world  of  waters  there  was  land,  and  there  Nature 
was  kind  and  fruitful ;  out  over  the  fearful  deluge 
this  leaf  was  born  to  me  in  the  return  of  .the  in- 
visible dove  my  heart  had  sent  forth  in  its  extrem- 
ity. A  song  was  written  therein,  perhaps  a  song 
of  triumph.  I  could  now  silence  the  clamorous 
tongue  of  our  sea-monster,  who  was  glutting  us 
with  tales  of  horror,  for  a  jubilee  was  at  hand, 
and  here  was  the  first  note  of  its  trumpets. 

I  read  :  — 

"  Beyond  the  parting  and  the  meeting 

I  shall  be  soon ; 

Beyond  the  farewell  and  the  greeting, 
Beyond  the  pulse's  fever-beating, 
I  shall  be  soon." 


12  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

I  paused.  A  night  black  with  croaking  ravens, 
brooding  over  a  slimy  hulk,  through  whose  warped 
timbers  the  sea  oozed,  —  that  was  the  sort  of  pic- 
ture that  rose  before  me.  I  looked  further  for  a 
crumb  of  comfort  :  — 

"  Beyond  the  gathering  and  the  strewing, 

I  shall  be  soon ; 

Beyond  the  ebbing  and  the  flowing, 
Beyond  the  coming  and  the  going, 
I  shall  be  soon." 

A  tide  of  ice-water  seemed  rippling  up  and  down 
my  spinal  column  ;  the  marrow  congealed  within 
my  bones.  But  I  recovered.  When  a  man  has 
supped  full  of  horror  and  there  is  no  immediate 
climax,  he  can  collect  himself  and  be  comparatively 
brave.  A  reaction  restored  my  soul. 

Once  more  the  melancholy  chronicler  of  the  ill- 
fated  Petrel  resumed  his  lugubrious  narrative.  I 
resolved  to  listen,  while  the  skipper  eyed  the 
barometer,  and  we  all  rocked  back  and  forth  in 
search  of  the  centre  of  gravity,  looking  like  a 
troupe  of  mechanical  blockheads  nodding  in  idiotic 
unison.  All  this  time  the  little  craft  drifted  help- 
lessly, "  hove  to  "  in  the  teeth  of  the  gale. 

The  sea-dog's  yarn  was  something  like  this  :  He 
once  knew  a  lonesome  man  who  floated  about  in  a 
waterlogged  hulk  for  three  months  ;  who  saw  all 
his  comrades  starve  and  die,  one  after  another, 
and  at  last  kept  watch  alone,  craving  and  beseech- 
ing death.  It  was  the  stanch  French  brig 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  13 

Mouette,  bound  south  into  the  equatorial  seas. 
She  had  seen  rough  weather  from  the  first :  day- 
after  day  the  winds  increased,  and  finally  a  cy- 
clone burst  upon  her  with  insupportable  fury. 
The  brig  was  thrown  upon  her  beam-ends,  and  be- 
gan to  fill  rapidly.  With  much  difficulty  her 
masts  were  cut  away,  she  righted,  and  lay  in  the 
trough  of  the  sea  rolling  like  a  log.  Gradually 
the  gale  subsided,  but  the  hull  of  the  brig  was 
swept  continually  by*  the  tremendous  swell,  and 
the  men  were  driven  into  the  foretop  cross-trees, 
where  they  rigged  a  tent  for  shelter  and  gathered 
what  few  stores  were  left  them  from  the  wreck. 
A  dozen  wretched  souls  lay  in  their  stormy  nest 
for  three  whole  days  in  silence  and  despair.  By 
this  time  their  scanty  stores  were  exhausted,  and 
not  a  drop  of  water  remained  ;  then  their  tongues 
were  loosened,  and  they  railed  at  the  Almighty. 
Some  wept  like  children,  some  cursed  their  fate. 
One  man  alone  was  speechless,  —  a  Spaniard,  with 
a  wicked  light  in  his  eye,  and  a  repulsive  manner 
that  had  made  trouble  in  the  forecastle  more  than 
once. 

When  hunger  had  driven  them  nearly  to  mad- 
ness they  were  fed  in  an  almost  miraculous  manner. 
Several  enormous  sharks  had  been  swimming 
about  the  brig  for  some  hours,  and  the  hungry 
sailors  were  planning  various  projects  for  the 
capture  of  them.  Tough  as  a  shark  is,  they  would 
willingly  have  risked  life  for  a  few  raw  mouthfuls 


14  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

of  the  same.  Somehow,  though  the  sea  was  still 
and  the  wind  light,  the  brig  gave  a  sudden  lurch 
and  dipped  up  one  of  the  monsters,  who  was  quite 
secure  in  the  shallow  aquarium  between  the  gun- 
wales. He  was  soon  despatched,  and  divided 
equally  among  the  crew.  Some  ate  a  little,  and  re- 
served the  rest  for  another  day ;  some  ate  till  they 
were  sick,  and  had  little  left  for  the  next  meal. 
The  Spaniard  with  the  evil  eye  greedily  devoured 
liis  portion,  and  then  grew  moody  again,  refusing 
to  speak  with  the  others,  who  were  striving  to  be 
cheerful,  though  it  was  sad  enough  work. 

When  the  food  was  all  gone  save  a  few  moiith- 
fuls  that  one  meagre  eater  had  hoarded  to  the 
last,  the  Spaniard  resolved  to  secure  a  morsel  at 
the  risk  of  his  life.  It  had  been  a  point  of  honor 
with  the  men  to  observe  sacredly  the  right  of 
ownership,  and  any  breach  of  confidence  would 
have  been  considered  unpardonable.  At  night, 
when  the  watch  was  sleeping,  the  Spaniard  cau- 
tiously removed  the  last  mouthful  of  shark  hidden 
in  the  pocket  of  his  mate,  but  was  immediately 
detected  and  accused  of  theft.  He  at  once  grew 
desperate,  struck  at  the  poor  wretch  whom  he  had 
robbed,  missed  his  blow,  and  fell  headlong  from 
the  narrow  platform  in  the  foretop,  and  was  lost 
in  the  sea.  It  was  the  first  scene  in  the  mournful 
tragedy  about  to  be  enacted  on  that  limited  stage. 

There  was  less  disturbance  after  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  Spaniard.  The  spirits  of  the  doomed 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  15 

sailors  seemed  broken  ;  in  fact,  the  captain  was  the 
only  one  whose  courage  was  noteworthy,  and  it 
was  his  indomitable  will  that  ultimately  saved 
him. 

One  by  one  the  minds  of  the  miserable  men 
gave  way  ;  they  became  peevish  or  delirious,  and 
then  died  horribly.  Two,  who  had  been  mates 
for  many  voyages  in  the  seas  north  and  south, 
vanished  mysteriously  in  the  night ;  no  one  could 
tell  where  they  went  or  in  what  manner,  though 
they  seemed  to  have  gone  together. 

Somehow,  these  famishing  sailors  seemed  to  feel 
assured  that  their  captain  would  be  saved ;  they 
were  as  confident  of  their  own  doom,  and  to  him 
they  intrusted  a  thousand  messages  of  love.  They 
would  lie  around  him,  —  for  few  of  them  had 
strength  to  assume  a  sitting  posture,  —  and  reveal 
to  him  the  story  of  their  lives.  It  was  most  piti- 
ful to  hear  the  confessions  of  these  dying  men. 
One  said  :  "  I  wronged  my  friend ;  I  was  unkind  to 
this  one  or  to  that  one ;  I  deserve  the  heaviest 
punishment  God  can  inflict  upon  me  "  ;  and  then 
he  paused,  overcome  with  emotion.  But  another 
took  up  the  refrain  :  "  I  could  have  done  much 
good,  but  I  would  not,  and  now  'it  is  too  late." 
And  a  third  cried  out  in  his  despair,  "  I  have  com- 
mitted unpardonable  sins,  and  there  is  no  hope  for 
me.  Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy  ! "  The  youngest 
of  these  perishing  souls  was  a  mere  lad ;  he,  too, 
accused  himself  bitterly.  He  began  his  story  at 


16  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

the  beginning,  and  continued  it  from  time  to  time 
as  the  spirit  of  revelation  moved  him  ;  scarcely 
an  incident,  however  insignificant,  escaped  him  in 
his  pitiless  retrospect.  0,  the  keen  agony  of  that 
boy's  recital  !  more  cruel  than  hunger  or  thirst, 
and  in  comparison  with  which  physical  torture 
would  have  seemed  merciful  and  any  death  a 
blessing. 

While  the  luckless  Mouette  drifted  aimlessly 
about,  driven  slowly  onward  by  varying  winds 
under  a  cheerless  sky,  sickness  visited  them.  Some 
were  stricken  with  scurvy ;  some  had  lost  the  use 
of  their  limbs  and  lay  helpless,  moaning  and  weep- 
ing hour  after  hour ;  vermin  devoured  them ;  and 
when  their  garments  were  removed,  and  cleansed 
in  the  salt  water,  there  was  scarcely  sunshine 
enough  to  dry  them  before  night,  and  they  were 
put  on  again,  damp,  stiffened  with  salt,  and 
shrunken  so  as  to  cripple  the  wearers,  who  were  all 
blistered  and  covered  with  boils.  The  nights  were 
bitter  cold  :  sometimes  the  icy  moon  looked  down 
upon  them ;  sometimes  the  bosom  of  an  electric 
cloud  burst  over  them,  and  they  were  enveloped 
for  a  moment  in  a  sheet  of  flame.  Sharks  lingered 
about  them,  waiting  to  feed  upon  the  unhappy 
ones  who  fell  into  the  sea  overcome  with  physical 
exhaustion,  or  who  cast  themselves  from  that  dizzy 
scaffold,  unable  longer  to  endure  the  horrors  of 
lingering  death.  Flocks  of  sea-fowl  hovered  over 
them ;  the  hull  of  the  Mouette  was  crusted  with 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  17 

barnacles ;  long  skeins  of  sea-grass  knotted  them- 
selves in  her  gaping  seams  ;  myriads  of  fish  darted 
in  and  out  among  the  clinging  weeds,  sporting 
gleefully  ;  schools  of  porpoises  leaped  about  them, 
lashing  the  sea  into  foam  ;  sometimes  a  whale  blew 
his  long  breath  close  under  them.  Everywhere 
was  the  stir  of  jubilant  life,  —  everywhere  but 
under  the  tattered  awning  stretched  in  the  foretop 
of  the  Mouette. 

Days  and  weeks  dragged  on.  When  the  captain 
would  waken  from  his  sleep,  —  which  was  not 
always  at  night,  however,  for  the  nights  were 
miserably  cold  and  sleepless,  —  when  he  wakened 
he  would  call  the  roll.  Perhaps  some  one  made  no 
answer  ;  then  he  would  reach  forth  and  touch  the 
speechless  body  and  find  it  dead.  He  had  not 
strength  now  to  bury  the  corpses  in  the  sea's 
sepulchre  ;  he  had  not  strength  even  to  partake 
of  the  unholy  feast  of  the  inanimate  flesh.  He  lay 
there  in  the  midst  of  pestilence ;  and  at  night, 
under  the  merciful  veil  of  darkness,  the  fowls  of 
the  air  gathered  about  him  and  bore  away  their 
trophy  of  corruption. 

By  and  by  there  were  but  two  left  of  all  that 
suffering  crew,  —  the  captain  and  the  boy,  —  and 
these  two  clung  together  like  ghosts,  defying 
mortality.  They  strove  to  be  patient  and  hope- 
ful :  if  they  could  not  eat,  they  could  drink,  for 
the  nights  were  dewy,  and  sometimes  a  mist 
covered  them,  —  a  mist  so  dense  it  seemed  almost 


18  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

to  drip  from  the  rags  that  poorly  sheltered  them. 
A  cord  was  attached  to  the  shrouds,  the  end  of  it 
carefully  laid  in  the  mouth  of  a  bottle  slung  in  the 
rigging.  Down  the  thin  cord  slid  occasional  drops  ; 
one  by  one  they  stole  into  the  bottle,  and  by 
morning  there  was  a  spoonful  of  water  to  moisten 
those  parched  lips,  —  sweet,  crystal  drops,  more 
blessed  than  tears,  for  they  are  salt ;  more  precious 
than  pearls.  A  thousand  prayers  of  gratitude 
seemed  hardly  to  quiet  the  souls  of  the  lingering 
ones  for  that  great  charity  of  Heaven. 

There  came  a  day  when  the  hearts  of  God's 
angels  must  have  bled  for  the  suffering  ones.  The 
breeze  was  fresh  and  fair ;  the  sea  tossed  gayly  its 
foam-crested  waves ;  sea-birds  soared  in  wider 
circles  ;  and  the  clouds  shook  out  their  fleecy  folds, 
through  which  the  sunlight  streamed  in  grateful 
warmth.  The  two  ghosts  were  talking,  as  ever,  of 
home,  of  earth,  of  land.  Land,  — land  anywhere, 
so  that  it  were  solid  and  broad.  0,  to  pace  again 
a  whole  league  without  turning  !  0,  to  pause  in 
the  shadow  of  some  living  tree  !  To  drink  of  some 
stream  whose  waters  flowed  continually  ;  flowed, 
though  you  drank  of  them  with  the  awful  thirst 
of  one  who  has  been  denied  water  for  weeks  and 
and  weeks  and  weeks,  for  three  whole  months,  — 
an  eternity,  as  it  seemed  to  them. 

Then  they  pictured  life  as  it  might  be  if  God 
permitted  them  to  return  to  earth  once  more. 
They  would  pace  K Street  at  noon,  and  re- 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  19 

visit  that  capital  restaurant  where  many  a  time 
they  had  feasted,  though  in  those  days  they  were 
unknown  to  one  another ;  they  would  call  for 
coffee,  and  this  dish  and  that  dish,  and  a  whole 
bill  of  fare,  the  thought  of  which  made  their 
feverish  palates  grow  moist  again.  They  would 
meet  friends  whom  they  had  never  loved  as  they 
now  loved  them ;  they  would  reconcile  old  feuds 
and  forgive  everybody  everything ;  they  held 
imaginary  conversations,  and  found  life  very 
beautiful  and  greatly  to  be  desired ;  and  somehow 
they  would  get  back  to  the  little  cafe  and  there 
begin  eating  again,  and  with  a  relish  that  brought 
the  savory  tastes  and  smells  vividly  before  them, 
and  their  lips  would  move  and  the  impalpable 
morsels  roll  sweetly  over  their  tongues. 

It  had  become  a  second  nature  to  scour  the 
horizon  with  jealous  eyes  ;  never  for  a  moment 
during  their  long  martyrdom  had  their  covetous 
sight  fixed  upon  a  stationary  object.  But  it  came 
at  last.  Out  of  a  cloud  a  sail  burst  like  a  flicker- 
ing flame.  What  an  age  it  was  a  coming !  how  it 
budded  and  blossomed  like  a  glorious  white  flower, 
that  was  transformed  suddenly  into  a  bark  bear- 
ing down  upon  them !  Almost  within  hail  it 
stayed  its  course,  the  canvas  fluttered  in  the  wind  ; 
the  dark  hull  slowly  rose  and  fell  upon  the  water ; 
figures  moved  to  and  fro,  —  men,  living  and  breath- 
ing men  !  Then  the  ghosts  staggered  to  their  feet 
and  cried  to  God  for  mercy.  Then  they  waved 


20  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

their  arms,  and  beat  their  breasts,  and  lifted  up 
their  imploring  voices,  beseeching  deliverance  out 
of  that  horrible  bondage.  Tears  coursed  down 
their  hollow  cheeks,  their  limbs  quaked,  their 
breath  failed  them ;  they  sank  back  in  despair, 
speechless  and  forsaken. 

Why  did  they  faint  in  the  hour  of  deliverance 
when  that  narrow  chasm  was  all  that  separated 
them  from  renewed  life'?  Because  the  bark 
spread  out  her  great  white  wings  and  soared  away, 
hearing  not  the  faint  voices,  seeing  not  the  thin 
shadows  that  haunted  that  drifting  wreck.  The 
forsaken  ones  looked  out  from  their  eyrie,  and 
watched  the  lessening  sail  until  sight  failed  them ; 
and  then  the  lad,  with  one  wild  cry,  leaped  toward 
the  speeding  bark,  and  was  swallowed  up  in  the 
sea. 

Alone  in  a  wilderness  of  waters.  Alone,  without 
compass  or  rudder,  borne  on  by  relentless  winds 
into  the  lonesome,  dreary,  shoreless  ocean  of  de- 
spair, within  whose  blank  and  forbidding  sphere 
no  voyager  ventures;  across  whose  desolate  waste 
dawn  sends  no  signal  and  night  brings  no  reprieve  ; 
but  whose  sun  is  colcf,  and  whose  moon  is  clouded, 
and  whose  stars  withdraw  into  space,  and  where 
the  insufferable  silence  of  vacancy  shall  not  be 
broken  for  all  time. 

0  pitiless  Nature  !  thy  irrevocable  laws  argue 
sore  sacrifice  in  the  waste  places  of  God's  uni- 
verse !  .  . 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  21 

The  Petrel  gave  a  tremendous  lurch,  that  sent 
two  or  three  of  us  into  the  lee  corners  of  the 
cabin  ;  a  sea  broke  over  us,  bursting  in  the  com- 
panion-hatch, and  half  filling  our  small  and  insecure 
retreat.  The  swinging  lamp  was  thrown  from  its 
socket  and  extinguished ;  we  were  enveloped  in 
pitch  darkness,  up  to  our  knees  in  salt  water. 
There  was  a  moment  of  awful  silence  ;  we  could 
not  tell  whether  the  light  of  day  would  ever  visit 
us  again  ;  we  thought  perhaps  it  would  n't.  But 
the  Petrel  rose  once  more  upon  the  watery  hill-tops 
and  shook  herself  free  of  the  cumbersome  deluge  ; 
and  at  that  point,  when  she  seemed  to  be  riding 
more  easily  than  usual,  some  one  broke  the  silence  : 
"  Well,  did  the  captain  of  the  Mouette  live  to  tell 
the  tale  1 " 

Yes,  he  did.  God  sent  a  messenger  into  the 
lonesome  deep,  where  the  miserable  man  was  found 
insensible,  with  eyes  wide  open  against  the  sun- 
light, and  lips  shrunken  apart,  —  a  hideous,  breath- 
ing corpse.  When  he  was  lifted  in  the  arms  of 
the  brave  fellows  who  had  gone  to  his  rescue,  he 
cried,  "  Great  God!  am  I  saved*?"  as  though  he 
could  n't  believe  it  when  it  was  true  ;  then  he  faint- 
ed, and  was  nursed  through  a  long  delirium,  and  was 
at  last  restored  to  health  and  home  and  happiness. 

Our  cabin-boy  managed  to  fish  up  the  lamp, 
and  after  a  little  we  were  illuminated ;  the  agile 
swab  soon  sponged  out  the  cabin,  and  we  resumed 
our  tedious  watch  for  dawn  and  fairer  weather. 


22  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

Somehow,  my  mind  brooded  over  the  solitary 
wreck  that  was  drifting  about  the  sea.  I  could 
fancy  the  rotten  timbers  of  the  Mouette  clinging 
together,  by  a  miracle,  until  the  Ancient  Mariner 
was  taken  away  from  her,  and  then,  when  she 
was  alone  again,  with  nothing  whatever  in  sight 
but  blank  blue  sea  and  blank  blue  sky,  she  lay  for 
an  hour  or  so,  bearded  with  shaggy  sea-moss  and 
looking  about  a  thousand  years  old.  Suddenly  it 
occurred  to  her  that  her  time  had  come,  —  that 
she  had  outlived  her  usefulness,  and  might  as  well 
go  to  pieces  at  once.  So  she  yawned  in  all  her 
timbers,  and  the  sea  reached  up  over  her,  and  laid 
hold  of  her  masts,  and  seemed  to  be  slowly  draw- 
ing her  down  into  its  bosom.  There  was  not  an 
audible  sound,  and  scarcely  a  ripple  upon  the 
water ;  but  when  the  waves  had  climbed  into  the 
foretop,  there  was  a  clamor  of  affrighted  birds,  and 
a  myriad  bubbles  shot  up  to  the  surface,  where  a 
few  wraifs  floated  and  whirled  about  for  a  moment. 
It  was  all  that  marked  the  spot  where  the  Mouette 
went  down  to  her  eternal  rest. 

"  Ha,  ha  ! "  cried  our  skipper,  with  something 
almost  like  a  change  of  expression  on  his  mahogany 
countenance,  "  the  barometer  is  rising  !  "  and  sure 
enough  it  was.  In  two  hours  the  Petrel  acted  like 
a  different  craft  entirely,  and  by  and  by  came 
daybreak,  and  after  that  the  sea  went  down,  down, 
down,  into  a  deep,  dead  calm,  when  all  the  elements 
seemed  to  have  gone  to  sleep  after  their  furious 


IN   THE   CRADLE   OF   THE  DEEP.  23 

warfare.  Like  half-drowned  flies  we  crawled  oat 
of  the  close,  ill-smelling  cabin  to  dry  ourselves  in 
the  sun :  there,  on  the  steaming  deck  of  the 
schooner,  we  found  new  life,  and  in  the  hope  that 
dawned  with  it  we  grew  lusty  and  jovial. 

Such  a  flat,  oily  sea  as  it  was  then  !  So  trans- 
parent that  we  saw  great  fish  swimming  about, 
full  fathom  five  under  us.  A  monstrous  shark 
drifted  lazily  past,  his  dorsal  fin  now  and  then 
cutting  the  surface  like  a  knife  and  glistening  like 
polished  steel,  his  brace  of  pilot-fish  darting  hither 
and  thither,  striped  like  little  one-legged  harle- 
quins. 

Flat-headed  gonies  sat  high  on  the  water,  pip- 
ing their  querulous  note  as  they  tugged  at  some- 
thing edible,  a  dozen  of  them  entering  into  the 
domestic  difficulty  :  one  after  another  would  desert 
the  cause,  run  a  little  way  over  the  sea  to  gef  a 
good  start,  leap  heavily  into  the  air,  sail  about  for 
a  few  minutes,  and  then  drop  back  on  the  sea,  feet- 
foremost,  and  skate  for  a  yard  or  two,  making  a 
white  mark  and  a  pleasant  sound  as  it  slid  over 
the  water. 

The  exquisite  nautilus  floated  past  us,  with  its 
gauzy  sail  set,  looking  like  a  thin  slice  out  of  a 
soap-bubble  ;  the  strange  anemone  laid  its  pale, 
sensitive  petals  on  the  lips  of  the  wave  and  panted 
in  ecstasy  ;  the  Petrel  rocked  softly,  swinging  her 
idle  canvas  in  the  sun ;  we  heard  the  click  of  the 
anchor-chain  in  the  forecastle,  the  blessedest  sea- 


24  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

sound  I  wot  of;  a  sailor  sang  while  he  hung  in  the 
ratlines  and  tarred  down  the  salt-stained  shrouds. 
The  afternoon  waned  j  the  man  at  the  wheel  struck 
two  bells,  —  it  was  the  delectable  dog-watch. 
Down  went  the  swarthy  sun  into  his  tent  of 
clouds  ;  the  waves  were  of  amber  ;  the  fervid  sky 
was  flushed ;  it  looked  as  though  something  splen- 
did were  about  to  happen  up  there,  and  that  it 
could  hardly  keep  the  secret  much  longer.  Then 
came  the  purplest  twilight ;  and  then  the  sky 
blossomed  all  over  with  the  biggest,  ripest,  gold- 
enest  stars,  —  such  stars  as  hang  like  fruits  in 
sun-fed  orchards ;  such  stars  as  lay  a  track  of  fire 
in  the  sea  ;  such  stars  as  rise  and  set  over  moun- 
tains and  beyond  low  green  capes,  like  young 
moons,  every  one  of  them  ;  and  I  conjured  up  my 
spells  of  savage  enchantment,  my  blessed  islands, 
my  reefs  baptized  with  silver  spray  ;  I  saw  the 
broad  fan-leaves  of  the  banana  droop  in  the  motion- 
less air,  and  through  the  tropical  night  the  palms 
aspired  heavenward,  while  I  lay  dreaming  my  sea- 
dream  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep. 


CHUMMING  WITH  A  SAVAGE. 


PART   I. 
K  A  N  A  -  A  N  A  . 

7  HERE  was  a  little  brown  rain-cloud,  that 
blew  over  in  about  three  minutes  ;  and 
Bolabola's  thatched  hut  was  dry  as  a 
haystack  in  less  than  half  that  time.  Those  trop- 
ical sprays  are  not  much,  anyhow  ;  so  I  lounged 
down  into  the  banana-patch,  for  I  thought  I  saw 
something  white  there,  something. white  and  flut- 
tering, moving  about.  I  knew  pretty  well  what 
it  was,  and  did  n't  go  after  it  on  an  uncertainty. 

The  Doctor  looked  savage.  Whenever  he  slung 
those  saddle-bags  over  his  left  shoulder,-  and 
swung  his  right  arm  clean  out  from  his  body,  like 
the  regulator  of  a  steam-engine,  you  might  know 
that  his  steam  was  pretty  well  up.  I  turned  to 
look  back,  as  he  was  strapping  up  his  beast  of 
burden  till  the  poor  animal's  body  was  positively 
waspish ;  then  he  climbed  into  his  saddle,  and 
sullenly  plunged  down  the  trail  toward  the  preci- 
pice, and  never  said  "  Good  by,"  or  "  God  bless 
you,"  or  any  of  those  harmless  tags  that  come  in 


26  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

so  well  when  you  don't  know  how  to  cut  off  your 
last  words. 

I  solemnly  declare,  and  this  without  malice,  the 
Doctor  was  perfectly  savage. 

Now,  do  you  know  what  demoralized  that  Doc- 
tor 1  how  we  came  to  a  misunderstanding  1  or  why 
we  parted  company  1  It  was  simply  because  here 
was  a  glorious  valley,  inhabited  by  a  mild,  half- 
civilized  people,  who  seemed  to  love  me  at  first 
sight.  I  don't  believe  I  disliked  them,  either. 
Well !  they  asked  me  to  stop  with  them,  and  I 
felt  just  like  it.  I  wanted  to  stop  and  be  natural; 
but  the  Doctor  thought  otherwise  of  my  inten- 
tions ;  and  that  was  the  origin  of  the  row. 

The  next  thing  I  knew,  the  Doctor  had  got  up 
the  great  precipice,  and  I  was  quite  alone  with 
two  hundred  dlisky  fellows,  only  two  of  whom 
could  speak  a  syllable  of  English,  and  I  the  sole 
representative  of  the  superior  white  within  twenty 
miles.  Alone  with  cannibals,  —  perhaps  they  were 
cannibals.  They  had  magnificent  teeth,  at  any 
rate,  and  could  bite  through  an  inch  and  a  half 
sugar-cane,  and  not  break  a  jaw. 

For  the  first  time  that  summer  I  began  to  mor- 
alize a  little.  Was  it  best  to  have  kicked  against 
the  Doctor's  judgment  ]  Perhaps  not  !  But  it  is 
best  to  be  careful  how  you  begin  to  moralize  too 
early  ;  you  deprive  yourself  of  a  great  deal  of  fun 
in  that  way.  If  you  want  to  do  anything  particu- 
larly, I  should  advise  you  to  do  it,  and  then  be 
sufficiently  sorry  to  make  it  all  square. 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  27 

I  'm  not  so  sure  that  I  was  wrong,  after  all. 
Fate,  or  the  Doctor,  or  something  else,  brought 
me  first  to  this  loveliest  of  valleys,  so  shut  out 
from  everything  but  itself  that  there  were  no 
temptations  which  might  not  be  satisfied.  Well ! 
here,  as  I  was  looking  about  at  the  singular  love- 
liness of  the  place,  —  you  know  this  was  my  first 
glimpse  of  its  abrupt  walls,  hung  with  tapestries 
of  fern  and  clambering  convolvulus ;  at  one  end 
two  exquisite  waterfalls,  rivalling  one  another  in 
whiteness  and  airiness,  at  the  other  the  sea,  the 
real  South  Sea,  breaking  and  foaming  over  a  gen- 
uine reef,  and  even  rippling  the  placid  current  of 
the  river  that  slipped  quietly  down  to  its  embra- 
cing tide  from  the  deep  basins  at  these  waterfalls, 
—  right  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  before  1  had  been 
ten  minutes  in  the  valley,  I  saw  a  straw  hat, 
bound  with  wreaths  of  fern  and  maile ;  under  it 
a  snow-white  garment,  rather  short  all  around, 
low  in  the  neck,  and  with  no  sleeves  whatever. 

There  was  no  sex  to  that  garment  ;  it  was  the 
spontaneous  offspring  of  a  scant  material  and  a 
large  necessity.  I  'd  seen  plenty  of  that  sort  of 
thing,  but  never  upon  a  model  like  this,  so  entire- 
ly tropical,  —  almost  Oriental.  As  this  singular 
phenomenon  made  directly  for  me,  and,  having 
come  within  reach,  there  stopped  and  stayed, 
I  asked  its  name,  using  one  of  my  seven  stock 
phrases  for  the  purpose  ;  I  found  it  was  called 
Kana-ana.  Down  it  went  into  my  note-book ;  for 


28  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

I  knew  I  was  to  have  an  experience  with  this 
young  scion  of  a  race  of  chiefs.  Sure  enough,  I 
have  had  it.  He  continued  to  regard  ine  steadily, 
without  embarrassment.  He  seated  himself  be- 
fore me  ;  I  felt  myself  at  the  mercy  of  one  whose 
cairn  analysis  was  questioning  every  motive  of  my 
soul.  This  sage  inquirer  was,  perhaps,  sixteen 
years  of  age.  His  eye  was  so  earnest  and  so  hon- 
est, I  could  return  his  look.  I  saw  a  round,  full, 
rather  girlish  face  ;  lips  ripe  and  expressive,  not 
quite  so  sensual  as  those  of  most  of  his  race  ;  not 
a  bad  nose,  by  any  means ;  eyes  perfectly  glorious, 
—  regular  almonds,  —  with  the  mythical  lashes 
"that  sweep,"  etc.,  etc.  The  sniile  which  pres- 
ently transfigured  his  face  was  of  the  nature  that 
flatters  you  into  submission  against  your  will. 

Having  weighed  me  in  his  balance,  —  and  you 
may  be  sure  his  instincts  did  n't 'cheat  him  ;  they 
don't  do  that  sort  of  thing,  —  he  placed  his  two 
hands  on  my  two  knees,  and  declared,  "  I  was  his 
best  friend,  as  he  was  mine  ;  I  must  come  at  once 
to  his  house,  and  there  live  always  with  him." 
What  could  I  do  but  go  ]  He  pointed  me  to  his 
lodge  across  the  river,  saying,  "  There  was  his 
home  and  mine."  By  this  time,  my  native  with- 
out a  master  wras  quite  exhausted.  I  wonder  what 
would  have  happened  if  some  one  had  n't  come  to 
my  rescue,  just  at  that  moment  of  trial,  with  a 
fresh  vocabulary  ]  As  it  was,  we  settled  the  mat- 
ter at  once.  This  was  our  little  plan, — an  en- 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  29 

tirely  private  arrangement  between  K ana-ana  and 
myself:  I  was  to  leave  with  the  Doctor  in  an 
hour  ;  but,  at  the  expiration  of  a  week  we  should 
both  return  hither ;  then  I  would  stop  with  him, 
and  the  Doctor  could  go  his  way. 

There  was  an  immense  amount  of  secrecy,  and 
many  vows,  and  I  was  almost  crying,  when  the 
Doctor  hurried  me  up  that  terrible  precipice,  and 
we  lost  sight  of  the  beautiful  valley.  Kana-ana 
swore  he  would  watch  continually  for  my  return, 
and  I  vowed  I  'd  hurry  back ;  and  so  we  parted. 
Looking  down  from  the  heights,  I  thought  I  could 
distinguish  his  white  garment ;  at  any  rate,  I  knew 
the  little  fellow  was  somewhere  about,  feeling  as 
miserably  as  I  felt,  —  and  nobody  has  any  business 
to  feel  worse.  How  many  times  I  thought  of  him 
through  the  week  !  I  was  always  wondering  if  he 
still  thought  of  me.  I  had  found  those  natives  to 
be  impulsive,  demonstrative,  and,  I  feared,  incon- 
stant. Yet  why  should  he  forget  me,  having  so 
little  to  remember  in  his  idle  life,  while  I  could 
still  think  of  him,  and  put  aside  a  hundred  pleas- 
ant memories  for  his  sake  1  The  whole  island  was 
a  delight  to  me.  I  often  wondered  if  I  should 
ever  again  behold  such  a  series  of  valleys,  hills, 
and  highlands  in  so  small  a  compass.  That  land 
is  a  world  in  miniature,  the  dearest  spot  of  which, 
to  me,  was  that  secluded  valley ;  for  there  was  a 
young  soul  watching  for  my  return. 

That   was  rather  a  slow  week  for  me,  but  it 


30  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

ended  finally ;  and  just  at  sunset,  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, the  Doctor  and  I  found  ourselves  back  on 
the  edge  of  the  valley.  I  looked  all  up  and  down 
its  green  expanse,  regarding  every  living  creature, 
in  the  hope  of  discovering  K ana-ana  in  the  attitude 
of  the  watcher.  I  let  the  Doctor  ride  ahead  of 
me  on  the  trail  to  Bolabola's  hut,  and  it  was  quite 
in  the  twilight  when  I  heard  the  approach  of  a 
swift  horseman.  I  turned,  arid  at  that  moment 
there  was  a  collision  of  two  constitutions  that 
were  just  fitted  for  one  another;  and  all  the 
doubts  and  apprehensions  of  the  week  just  over 
were  indignantly  dismissed,  for  Kana-ana  and  I 
were  one  and  inseparable,  which  was  perfectly  sat- 
isfactory to  both  parties  1 

The  plot,  which  had  been  thickening  all  the 
week,  culminated  then,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the 
Doctor,  who  had  kept  his  watchful  eye  upon  me  all 
these  days  —  to  my  advantage,  as  he  supposed. 
There  was  no  disguising  our  project  any  longer,  so 
I  out  with  it  as  mildly  as  possible.  "  There  was  a 
dear  fellow  here,"  I  said,  •"  who  loved  me,  and 
wanted  me  to  live  with  him ;  all  his  people  wanted 
me  to  stop,  also;  his  mother  and  his  grand- 
mother had  specially  desired  it.  They  didn't  care 
for  money ;  they  had  much  love  for  me,  and  there- 
fore implored  me  to  stay  a  little.  Then  the  valley 
was  most  beautiful ;  I  was  tired  ;  after  our  hard 
riding,  I  needed  rest ;  his  mother  and  his  grand- 
mother assured  me  that  I  needed  rest.  Now,  why 
not  let  me  rest  here  awhile]" 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  31 

The  Doctor  looked  very  grave.  I  knew  that  he 
misunderstood  me,  —  placed  a  wrong  interpretation 
upon  my  motives ;  the  worse  for  him,  I  say.  He 
tried  to  talk  me  over  to  the  paths  of  virtue  and 
propriety  ;  but  I  wouldn't  be  talked  over.  Then 
the  final  blast  was  blown  ;  war  was  declared  at 
once.  The  Doctor  never  spoke  again,  but  to  abuse 
me ;  and  off  he  rode  in  high  dudgeon,  and  the 
sun  kept  going  down  on  his  wrath.  Thereupon  I 
renounced  all  the  follies  of  this  world,  actually 
hating  civilization,  and  feeling  entirely  above  the 
formalities  of  society.  I  resolved  on  the  spot  to 
be  a  barbarian,  and,  perhaps,  dwell  for  ever  and 
ever  in  this  secluded  spot.  And  here  I  am  back 
to  the  beginning  or  this  story,  just  after  the  shower 
at  Bolabola's  hut,  as  the  Doctor  rode  off  alone  and 
in  anger. 

That  resolution  was  considerable  for  me  to 
make.  I  found,  by  the  time  the  Doctor  was  out 
of  sight  and  I  was  quite  alone,  with  the  natives 
regarding  me  so  curiously,  that  I  was  very  tired 
indeed.  So  Kana-ana  brought  up  his  horse,  got 
me  on  to  it  in  some  way  or  other,  and  mounted 
behind  me  to  pilot  the  animal  and  sustain  me  in 
my  first  bareback  act  Over  the  sand  we  went, 
and  through  the  river  to  his  hut,  where  I  was 
taken  in,  fed,  and  petted  in  every  possible  way,  and 
finally  put  to  bed,  where  Kana-ana  monopolized 
me,  growling  in  true  savage  fashion  if  any  one 
came  near  me.  I  did  n't  sleep  much,  after  all.  I 


32  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

think  I  must  have  been  excited.  I  thought  how 
strangely  I  was  situated  :  alone  in  a  wilderness, 
among  barbarians;  my  bosom  friend,  who  was 
hugging  me  like  a  young  bear,  not  able  to  speak 
one  syllable  of  English,  and  I  very  shaky  on  a  few 
bad  phrases  in  his  tongue.  We  two  lay  upon  an 
enormous  old-fashioned  bed  with  high  posts, —  very 
high  they  seemed  to  me  in  the  dim  rushlight. 
The  natives  always  burn  a  small  light  after  dark  ; 
some  superstition  or  other  prompts  it.  The  bed, 
well  stocked  with  pillows,  or  cushions,  of  various 
sizes,  covered  with  bright-colored  chintz,  was  hung 
about  with  numerous  shawls,  so  that  I  might  be 
dreadfully  modest  behind  them.  It  was  quite 
a  grand  affair,  gotten  up  expressly  for  my  bene- 
fit. The  rest  of  the  house  —  all  in  one  room,  as 
usual  —  was  covered  with  mats,  on  which  various 
recumbent  forms  and  several  individual  snores 
betrayed  the  proximity  of  Kana-ana's  relatives. 
How  queer  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  place 
was  !  The  heavy  beams  of  the  house  were  of 
some  rare  wood,  which,  being  polished,  looked  like 
colossal  sticks  of  peanut  candy.  Slender  canes 
were  bound  across  this  framework,  and  the  soft, 
dried  grass  of  the  meadows  was  braided  over  it,  — 
all  completing  our  tenement,  and  making  it  as 
fresh  and  sweet  as  new-mown  hay. 

The  natives  have  a  passion  for  perfumes.  Lit- 
tle bunches  of  sweet-smelling  herbs  hung  in  the 
peak  of  the  roof,  and  wreaths  of  fragrant  berries 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  33 

were  strung  in  various  parts  of  the  house.  I 
found  our  bedposts  festooned  with  them  in  the 
morning.  0,  that  bed  !  It  might  have  come 
from  England  in  the  Elizabethan  era  and  been 
wrecked  off  the  coast ;  hence  the  mystery  of  its 
presence.  It  was  big  enough  for  a  Mormon. 
There  was  a  littlo  opening  in  the  room  opposite 
our  bed ;  you  might  call  it  a  window,  I  suppose. 
The  sun,  shining  through  it,  made  our  tent  of 
shawls  perfectly  gorgeous  in  crimson  light,  barred 
and  starred  with  gold.  I  lifted  our  bed-curtain, 
and  watched  the  rocks  through  this  window,  —  the 
shining  rocks,  with  the  sea  leaping  above  them  in 
the  sun.  There  were  cocoa-palms  so  slender  they 
seemed  to  cast  no  shadow,  while  their  fringed 
leaves  glistened  like  frost-work  as  the  sun  glanced 
over  them.  A  bit  of  cliff,  also,  remote  and  misty, 
running  far  into  the  sea,  was  just  visible  from  my 
pyramid  of  pillows.  I  wondered  what  more  I 
could  ask  for  to  delight  the  eye.  Kana-ana  was 
still  asleep,  but  he  never  let  loose  his  hold  on  me, 
as  though  he  feared  his  j>ale-faced  friend  would 
fade  away  from  him.  He  lay  close  by  me.  His 
sleek  figure,  supple  and  graceful  in  repose,  was  the 
embodiment  of  free,  untrammelled  youth.  You 
who  are  brought  up  under  cover  know  nothing  of 
its  luxuriousness.  How  I  longed  to  take  him  over 
the  sea  with  me,  and  show  him  something  of  life 
as  we  find  it.  Thinking  upon  it,  I  dropped  off 
into  one  of  those  delicious  morning  naps.  I  awoke 


34  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

again  presently  ;  my  companion-in-arms  was  the 
occasion  this  time.  He  had  awakened,  stolen 
softly  away,  resumed  his  single  garment,  —  said 
garment  and  all  others  he  considered  superfluous 
after  dark,  —  and  had  prepared  for  me,  with  his 
own  hands,  a  breakfast,  which  he  now  declared  to 
me,  in  violent  and  suggestive  pantomime,  was  all 
ready  to  be  eaten.  It  was  not  a  bad  bill  of  fare,  — 
fresh  fish,  taro,  poe,  and  goat's  milk.  I  ate  as 
well  as  I  could,  under  the  circumstances.  I  found 
that  Robinson  Crusoe  must  have  had  some  tedious 
rehearsals  before  he  acquired  that  perfect  resigna- 
tion to  Providence  which  delights  us  in  book  form. 
There  was  a  veritable  and  most  unexpected  table- 
cloth for  me  alone.  I  do  not  presume  to  question 
the  nature  of  its  miraculous  appearance.  Dishes 
there  were,  —  dishes,  if  you  're  not  particular  as 
to  shape  or  completeness ;  forks,  with  a  prong  or 
two,  —  a  bent  and  abbreviated  prong  or  two ; 
knives  that  had  survived  their  handles  ;  and  one 
solitary  spoon.  All  these  were  tributes  of  the  too 
generous  people,  who,  for  the  first  time  in  their 
lives,  were  at  the  inconvenience  of  entertaining 
a  distinguished  stranger.  Hence  this  reckless  dis- 
play of  tableware.  I  ate  as  well  as  I  could,  but 
surely  not  enough  to  satisfy  my  crony  :  for,  when 
I  had  finished  eating,  he  sat  about  two  hours  in 
deep  and  depressing  silence,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  he  suddenly  darted  off  on  his  bare- 
back steed  and  was  gone  till  dark,  when  he  re- 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  35 

turned  with  a  fat  mutton  slung  over  his  animal. 
Now,  mutton  does  n't  grow  wild  thereabout,  nei- 
ther were  his  relatives  shepherds ;  consequently, 
in  eating,  I  asked  no  questions  for  conscience' 
sake. 

The  series  of  entertainments  offered  me  were 
such  as  the  little  valley  had  not  known  for  years  : 
canoe-rides  up  and  down  the  winding  stream; 
bathings  in  the  sea  and  in  the  river,  and  in  every 
possible  bit  of  water,  at  all  possible  hours ;  expe- 
ditions into  the  recesses  of  the  mountains,  to  the 
waterfalls  that  plunged  into  cool  basins  of  fern 
and  cresses,  and  to  the  orange  grove  through  acres 
and  acres  of  guava  orchards  ;  some  climbings  up 
the  precipices ;  goat  hunting,  once  or  twice,  as  far 
as  a  solitary  cavern,  said  to  be  haunted,  —  these 
tramps  always  by  daylight ;  then  a  new  course  of 
bathings  and  sailings,  interspersed  with  monoto- 
nous singing  and  occasional  smokes  under  the 
eaves  of  the  hut  at  evening. 

If  it  is  a  question  how  long  a  man  may  with- 
stand the  seductions  of  nature,  and  the  consola- 
tions and  conveniences  of  the  state  of  nature,  I 
have  solved  it  in  one  case  ;  for  I  was  as  natural 
as  possible  in  about  three  days. 

I  wonder  if  I  was  growing  to  feel  more  at  home, 
or  more  hungry,  that  I  found  an  appetite  at  last 
equal  to  any  table  that  was  offered  me !  Chicken 
was  added  to  my  already  bountiful  rations,  nicely 
cooked  by  being  swathed  in  a  broad,  succulent 


36  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

leaf,  and  roasted  or  steeped  in  hot  ashes.  I  ate  it 
with  my  fingers,  using  the  leaf  for  a  platter. 

Almost  every  day  something  new  was  offered  at 
the  door  for  my  edification.  Now,  a  net  full  of 
large  guavas  or  mangoes,  or  a  sack  of  leaves 
crammed  with  most  delicious  oranges  from  the 
mountains,  that  seemed  to  have  absorbed  the  very 
dew  of  heaven,  they  were  so  fresh  and  sweet. 
Immense  lemons  perfumed  the  house,  waiting  to 
make  me  a  capital  drink.  Those  superb  citrons, 
with  their  rough,  golden  crusts,  refreshed  me. 
Cocoanuts  were  heaped  at  the  door ;  and  yams, 
grown  miles  away,  were  scut  for,  so  that  I  might 
be  satisfied.  All  these  additions  to  my  table  were 
the  result  of  long  and  vigorous  arguments  be- 
tween the  respective  heads  of  the  house.  I  de- 
tected trouble  and  anxiety  in  their  expressive 
faces.  I  picked  out  a  word,  here  and  there,  which 
betrayed  their  secret  sorrow.  No  assertions,  no 
remonstrances  on  my  part,  had  the  slightest  effect 
upon  the  poor  souls,  who  believed  I  was  starving. 
Eat  I  must,  at  all  hours  and  in  all  places ;  and 
eat,  moreover,  before  they  would  touch  a  mouth- 
ful. So  Nature  teaches  her  children  a  hospitality 
which  all  the  arts  of  the  capital  cannot  affect. 

I  wonder  what  it  was  that  finally  made  me  rest- 
less and  eager  to  see  new  faces  !  Perhaps  my  un- 
happy disposition,  that  urged  me  thither,  and  then 
lured  me  back  to  the  pride  of  life  and  the  glory 
of  the  world.  Certain  I  am  that  Kana-ana  never 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  37 

wearied  me  with  his  attentions,  though  they  were 
incessant.  Day  and  night  he  was  by  me.  When 
he  was  silent,  I  knew  he  was  conceiving  some  sur- 
prise in  the  shape  of  a  new  fruit,  or  a  new  view  to 
beguile  me.  I  was,  indeed,  beguiled  ;  I  was  grow- 
ing to  like  the  little  heathen  altogether  too  well. 
What  should  I  do  when  I  was  at  last  compelled 
to  return  out  of  my  seclusion,  and  find  no  soul  so 
faithful  and  loving  in  all  the  earth  beside  ]  Day 
by  day  this  thought  grew  upon  me,  and  with  it  I 
realized  the  necessity  of  a  speedy  departure. 

There  were  those  in  the  world  I  could  still  re- 
member with  that  exquisitely  painful  pleasure  that 
is  the  secret  of  true  love.  Those  still  voices 
seemed  incessantly  calling  me,  and  something  in 
my  heart  answered  them  of  its  own  accord.  How 
strangely  idle  the  days  had  grown  !  We  used  to  lie 
by  the  hour  —  Kana-ana  and  I  —  watching  a  strip 
of  sand  on  which  a  wild  poppy  was  nodding  in  the 
wind.  This  poppy  seemed  to  me  typical  of  their 
life  in  the  quiet  valley.  Living  only  to  occupy  so 
much  space  in  the  universe,  it  buds,  blossoms,  goes 
to  seed,  dies,  and  is  forgotten. 

These  natives  do  not  even  distinguish  the  mem- 
ory of  their  great  dead,  if  they  ever  had  any. 
It  was  the  legend  of  some  mythical  god  that 
Kana-ana  told  me,  and  of  which  I  could  not  under- 
stand a  twentieth  part ;  a  god  whose  triumphs 
were  achieved  in  an  age  beyond  the  comprehension 
of  the  very  people  who  are  delivering  its  story, 


38  'SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

by  word  of  mouth,  from  generation  to  generation. 
Watching  the  sea  was  a  great  source  of  amusement 
with  us.  I  discovered  in  our  long  wratches  that  there 
is  a  very  complicated  and  magnificent  rhythm  in 
its  solemn  song.  This  wave  that  breaks  upon  the 
shore  is  the  heaviest  of  a  series  that  preceded  it ; 
and  these  are  greater  and  less,  alternately,  every 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  Over  this  dual  im- 
pulse the  tides  prevail,  while  through  the  year 
there  is  a  variation  in  their  rise  and  fall.  What 
an  intricate  and  wonderful  mechanism  regulates 
and  repairs  all  this  ! 

There  was  an  entertainment  in  watching  a  par^ 
ticular  cliff,  in  a  peculiar  light,  at  a  certain  hour, 
and  finding  soon  enough  that  change  visited  even 
that  hidden  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  exquisite 
perfection  of  this  moment,  for  instance,  is  not 
again  repeated  on  to-morrow,  or  the  day  after,  but 
in  ijts  stead  appears  some  new  tint  or  picture, 
which,  perhaps,  does  not  satisfy  like  this.  That 
was  the  most  distressing  disappointment  that 
came  upon  us  there.  I  used  to  spend  half  an 
hour  in  idly  observing  the  splendid  curtains  of 
our  bed  swing  in  the  light  air  from  the  sea ;  and  I 
have  speculated  for  days  upon  the  probable  des- 
tiny awaiting  one  of  those  superb  spiders,  with  a 
tremendous  stomach  and  a  striped  waistcoat,  look- 
ing a  century  old,  as  he  clung  tenaciously  to  the 
fringes  of  our  canopy. 

We  had  fitful  spells  of  conversation  upon  some 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  39 

trivial  theme,  after  long  intervals  of  intense  si- 
lence. We  began  to  develop  symptoms  of  im- 
becility. There  was  laughter  at  the  least  occur- 
rence, though  quite  barren  of  humor  ;  also,  eating 
and  drinking  to  pass  the  time ;  bathing  to  make 
one's  self  cool,  after  the  heat  and  drowsiness  of 
the  day.  So  life  flowed  out  in  an  unruffled  cur- 
rent, and  so  the  prodigal  lived  riotously  and 
wasted  his  substance.  There  came  a  day  when 
we  promised  ourselves  an  actual  occurrence  in  our 
Crusoe  life.  Some  one  had  seen  a  floating  object 
far  out  at  sea.  It  might  be  a  boat  adrift ;  and, 
in  truth,  it  looked  very  like  a  boat.  Two  or  three 
canoes  darted  off  through  the  surf  to  the  rescue, 
while  we  gathered  on  the  rocks,  watching  and 
ruminating.  It  was  long  before  the  rescuers  re- 
turned, and  then  they  came  empty-handed.  It 
was  only  a  log  after  all,  drifted,  probably,  from 
America.  We  talked  it  all  over,  there  by  the 
shore,  and  went  home  to  renew  the  subject ;  it 
lasted  us  a  week  or  more,  and  we  kept  harping 
upon  it  till  that  log  —  drifting  slowly,  0  how 
slowly  !  from  the  far  mainland  to  our  island  — • 
seemed  almost  to  overpower  me  with  a  sense  of 
the  unutterable  loneliness  of  its  voyage.  I  used 
to  lie  and  think  about  it,  and  get  very  solemn,  in- 
deed ;  then  Kana-ana  would  think  of  some  fresh 
appetizer  or  other,  and  try  to  make  me  merry 
with  good  feeding.  Again  and  again  he  would 
come  with  a  delicious  banana  to  the  bed  where  I 


40  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

was  lying,  and  insist  upon  my  gorging  myself, 
when  I  had  but  barely  recovered  from  a  late  orgie 
of  fruit,  flesh,  or  fowl.  He  would  mesmerize  me 
into  a  most  refreshing  sleep  with  a  prolonged  and 
pleasing  manipulation.  It  was  a  reminiscence  of 
the  baths  of  Stain boul  not  to  be  withstood.  From 
this  sleep  I  would  presently  be  wakened  by  Kana- 
ana's  performance  upon  a  rude  sort  of  harp,  that 
gave  out  a  weird  and  eccentric  music.  The  mouth 
being  applied  to  the  instrument,  words  were  pro- 
nounced in  a  guttural  voice,  while  the  fingers 
twanged  the  strings  in  measure.  It  was  a  flow  of 
monotones,  shaped  into  legends  and  lyrics.  I 
liked  it  amazingly ;  all  the  better,  perhaps,  that  it 
was  as  good  as  Greek  to.  me,  for  I  understood  it  as 
little  as  I  understood  the  strange  and  'persuasive 
silence  of  that  beloved  place,  which  seemed  slowly 
but  surely  weaving  a  spell  of  enchantment  about 
me.  I  resolved  to  desert  peremptorily,  and 
managed  to  hire  a  canoe  and  a  couple  of  natives, 
to  cross  the  channel  with  me.  There  were  other 
reasons  for  this  prompt  action. 

Hour  by  hour  I  was  beginning  to  realize  one  of 
the  inevitable  results  of  Time.  My  boots  were  giv- 
ing out ;  their  best  sides  were  the  uppers,  and  their 
soles  had  about  left  them.  As  I  walked,  I  could 
no  longer  disguise  this  pitiful  fact.  It  was  getting 
hard  on  me,  especially  in  the  gravel.  Yet,  regu- 
larly each  morning,  my  pieces  of  boot  were 
carefully  oiled,  then  rubbed,  or  petted,  or  coaxed 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  41 

into  some  sort  of  a  polish,  which  was  a  labor  of 
love.  0  Kana-ana  !  how  could  you  wring  my 
soul  with  those  touching  offices  of  friendship  ! — • 
those  kindnesses  unfailing,  unsurpassed  ! 

Having  resolved  to  sail  early  in  the  morning, 
before  the  drowsy  citizens  of  the  valley  had  fairly 
shaken  the  dew  out  of  their  forelocks,  all  that  day 
—  my  last  with  Kana-ana  —  I  breathed  about  me 
silent  benedictions  and  farewells.  I  could  not 
begin  to  do  enough  for  Kana-ana,  who  was,  more 
than  ever,  devoted  to  me.  He  almost  seemed  to 
suspect  our  sudden  separation,  for  he  clung  to  me 
with  a  sort  of  subdued  desperation.  That  was  the 
day  he  took  from  his  head  his  hat  —  a  very  neat 
one,  plaited  by  his  mother  —  insisting  that  I 
should  wear  it  (mine  was  quite  in  tatters),  while 
he  went  bareheaded  in  the  sun.  That  hat  hangs 
in  my  room  now,  the  only  tangible  relic  of  my 
prodigal  days.  My  plan  was  to  steal  off  at  dawn, 
while  he  slept ;  to  awaken  my  native  crew,  and 
escape  to  sea  before  my  absence  was  detected.  I 
dared  not  trust  a  parting  with  him,  before  the 
eyes  of  the  valley.  Well,  I  managed  to  wake  and 
rouse  my  sailor  boys.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  did  n't 
sleep  a  wink  that  night.  We  launched  the  canoe, 
entered,  put  off,  and  had  safely  mounted  the 
second  big  roller  just  as  it  broke  under  us  with 
terrific  power,  when  I  heard  a  shrill  cry  above  the 
roar  of  the  waters.  I  knew  the  voice  and  its  im- 
port. There  was  Kana-ana  rushing  madly  toward 


42  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

us ;  he  had  discovered  all,  and  could  n't  even  wait 
for  that  white  garment,  but  ran  after  us  like  one 
gone  daft,  and  plunged  into  the  cold  sea,  calling 
my  name,  over  and  over,  as  he  fought  the  breakers. 
I  urged  the  natives  forward.  I  knew  if  he  overtook 
us,  I  should  never  be  able  to  escape  again.  We 
fairly  flew  over  the  water.  I  saw  him  rise  and  fall 
with  the  swell,  looking  like  a  seal ;  for  it  was  his 
second  nature,  this  surf-swimming.  I  believe  in  my 
heart  I  wished  the  paddles  would  break  or  the  canoe 
split  on  the  reef,  though  all  the  time  T  was  urging 
the  rascals  forward ;  and  they,  like  stupids,  took 
me  at  my  word.  They  could  n't  break  a  paddle, 
or  get  on  the  reef,  or  have  any  sort  of  an  accident. 
Presently  we  rounded  the  headland,  —  the  same 
hazy  point  I  used  to  watch  from  the  grass  house, 
through  the  little  window,  of  a  sunshiny  morning. 
There  we  lost  sight  of  the  valley  and  the  grass 
house,  and  everything  that  was  associated  with 
the  past,  —  but  that  was  nothing.  We  lost  sight 
of  the  little  sea-god,  Kana-ana,  shaking  the  spray 
from  his  forehead  like  a  porpoise  ;  and  this  was 
all  in  all.  I  did  n't  care  for  anything  else  after 
that,  or  anybody  else,  either.  I  went  straight  home 
and  got  civilized  again,  or  partly  so,  at  least.  I  've 
never  seen  the  Doctor  since,  and  never  want  to. 
He  had  no  business  to  take  me  there,  or  leave  me 
there.  I  could  n't  make  up  my  mind  to  stay  ;  yet 
I  'm  always  dying  to  go  back  again. 

So  I  grew  tired  over  my  husks.     I  arose  and 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  43 

went  unto  my  father.  I  wanted  to  finish  up  the 
Prodigal  business.  I  ran  and  fell  upon  his  neck 
and  kissed  him,  and  said  unto  nim,  "  Father,  if 
I  have  sinned  against  Heaven  and  in  thy  sight, 
I  'm  afraid  I  don't  care  much.  Don't  kill  any- 
thing. I  don't  want  any  calf.  Take  back  the  ring, 
I  don't  deserve  it ;  for  I  'd  give  more  this  minute 
to  see  that  dear,  little,  velvet-skinned,  coffee- 
colored  Kana-ana,  than  anything  else  in  the  wide 
world,  — because  he  hates  business,  and  so  do  I. 
He  's  a  regular  brick,  father,  moulded  of  the  purest 
clay,  and  baked  in  God's  sunshine.  He  's  about 
half  sunshine  himself;  and,  above  all  others,  and 
more  than  any  one  else  ever  can,  he  loved  your 
Prodigal." 


PART   II. 

HOW    I    CONVERTED    MY    CANNIBAL. 

WHEN  people  began  asking  me  queer  questions 
about  my  my  chum  Kana-ana,  some  of  them  even 
hinting  that  "  he  might  possibly  have  been  a  girl 
all  the  time,"  I  resolved  to  send  down  for  him, 
and  settle  the  matter  at  once.  I  knew  he  was  not 
a  girl,  and  I  thought  I  should  like  to  show  him 
some  American  hospitality,  and  perhaps  convert 
him  before  I  sent  him  back  again. 


44  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

I  could  teach  him  to  dress,  you  know  ;  to  say  a 
very  good  thing  to  your  face,  and  a  very  bad  one 
at  your  back ;  to  sleep  well  in  church,  and  rejoice 
duly  when  the  preacher  got  at  last  to  the  "  Amen." 
I  might  do  all  this  for  his  soul's  sake  ;  but  I 
wanted  more  to  see  how  the  little  fellow  was  get- 
ting on.  I  missed  him  so  terribly,  —  his  honest 
way  of  showing  likes  and  dislikes;  his  confidence  in 
his  intuitions  and  fidelity  to  his  friends  ;  and  those 
quaint  manners  of  his,  so  different  from  anything 
in  vogue  this  side  of  the  waters. 

That  is  what  I  remarked  when  I  got  home 
again,  and  found  myself  growing  as  practical  and 
prosy  as  ever.  I  awoke  no  kindred  chord  in  the 
family  bosom.  On  the  contrary,  they  all  said,  "  It 
was  no  use  to  think  of  it :  no  good  could  come 
out  of  Nazareth."  The  idea  of  a  heathen  and  his 
abominable  idolatry  being  countenanced  in  the 
sanctity  of  a  Christian  home  was  too  dreadful  for 
anything.  But  I  believed  some  good  might  come 
out  of  Nazareth,  and  I  believed  that,  when  it  did 
come,  it  was  the  genuine  article,  worth  hunting 
for,  surely.  I  thought  it  all  over  soberly,  finally 
resolving  to  do  a  little  missionary  work  on  my 
own  account.  So  I  wrote  to  the  Colonel  of  the 
Royal  Guards,  who  knows  everybody  and  has  im- 
mense influence  everywhere,  begging  him  to  catch 
Kana-ana,  when  his  folks  were  n't  looking,  and 
send  him  to  my  address,  marked  C.  0.  D.,  for  I 
was  just  dying  to  see  him.  That  was  how  I 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  45 

trapped  my  little  heathen  and  began  to  be  a  mis- 
sionary, all  by  myself. 

I  informed  the  Colonel  it  was  a  case  of  life  and 
death,  and  he  seemed  to  realize  it,  for  he  managed 
to  get  Kana-ana  away  from  his  distressed  relatives 
(their  name  is  legion,  and  they  live  all  over  the 
island),  fit  him  out  in  real  clothing, — the  poor 
little  wretch  had  to  be  dressed,  you  know  ;  we  all 
do  it  in  this  country,  —  then  he  packed  him  up 
and  shipped  him,  care  of  the  captain  of  the  bark 

S -.     When  he  arrived,  I  took  him  right  to  my 

room  and  began  my  missionary  work.  I  tried  to 
make  all  the  people  love  him,  but  I  'm  afraid  they 
found  it  hard  work.  He  was  n't  half  so  interest- 
ing up  here  anyhow  !  I  seemed  to  have  been 
regarding  him  through  chromatic  glasses,  which 
glasses  being  suddenly  removed,  I  found  a  little, 
dark-skinned  savage,  whose  clothes  fitted  him  hor- 
ribly, and  appeared  to  have  no  business  there. 
Boots  about  twice  too  long,  the  toes  being  heavily 
charged  with  wadding  ;  in  fact,  he  looked  perfect- 
ly miserable,  and  I  've  no  doubt  he  felt  so.  How 
he  had  been  studying  English  on  the  voyage  up  ! 
He  wanted  to  be  a  great  linguist,  and  had  begun 
in  good  earnest.  He  said  ."  good  mornin' "  as 
boldly  as  possible  about  seven  P.  M.,  and  invariably 
spoke  of  the  women  of  America  as  "  him."  He 
had  an  insane  desire  to  spell,  and  started  spelling- 
matches  with  everybody,  at  the  most  inappropri- 
ate hours  and  inconvenient  places.  He  invariably 


46  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

spelled  God  d-o-g  ;  when  duly  corrected,  —  thus, 
G-o-d,  —  he  would  triumphantly  shout,  dog.  He 
jumped  at  these  irreverent  conclusions  about 
twenty  times  a  day. 

What  an  experience  I  had,  educating  my  little 
savage  !  Walking  him  in  the  street  by  the  hour  ; 
answering  questions  on  all  possible  topics  ;  spell- 
ing up  and  down  the  blocks  ;  spelling  from  the 
centre  of  the  city  to  the  suburbs  and  back  again, 
and  around  it ;  spelling  one  another  at  spelling,  — 
two  latter-day  peripatetics  on  dress  parade,  pass- 
ing to  and  fro  in  high  and  serene  strata  of  philos- 
ophy, alike  unconscious  of  the  rudely  gazing  and 
insolent  citizens,  or  the  tedious  calls  of  labor.  A 
spell  was  over  us  :  we  ran  into  all  sorts  of  people, 
and  trod  on  many  a  corn,  loafing  about  in  this 
way.  Some  of  the  victims  objected  in  harsh  and 
sinful  language.  I  found  Kana-ana  had  so  far 
advanced  in  the  acquirement  of  our  mellifluous 
tongue  as  to  be  very  successful  in  returning  their 
salutes.  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  convin- 
cing him  of  the  enormity  of  his  error.  The  little 
convert  thought  it  was  our  mode  of  greeting 
strangers,  equivalent  to  their  more  graceful  and 
poetic  password,  Aloha,  "  Love  to  you." 

My  little  cannibal  was  n't  easily  accustomed  to 
his  new  restraints,  such  as  clothes,  manners,  and 
forbidden  water-privileges.  He  several  times 
started  on  his  daily  pilgrimage  without  his  hat ; 
once  or  twice,  to  save  time,  put  his  coat  on  next 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  47 

his  skin ;  and  though  I  finally  so  far  conquered 
him  as  to  be  sure  that  his  shirt  would  be  worn  on 
the  inside  instead  of  the  outside  of  his  trousers 
(this  he  considered  a  great  waste  of  material),  1 
was  in  constant  terror  of  his  suddenly  disrobing 
in  the  street  and  plunging  into  the  first  water  we 
came  to,  — which  barbarous  act  would  have  insured 
his  immediate  arrest,  perhaps  confinement;  and 
that  would  have  been  the  next  thing  to  death  in 
his  case. 

So  we  perambulated  the  streets  and  the  sub- 
urbs, daily  growing  into  each  other's  grace  ;  and  I 
was  thinking  of  the  propriety  of  instituting  a 
series  of  more  extended  excursions,  when  I  began 
to  realize  that  my  guest  was  losing  interest  in  our 
wonderful  city  and  the  possible  magnitude  of  her 
future. 

He  grew  silent  and  melancholy  ;  he  quit  spell- 
ing entirely,  or  only  indulged  in  rare  and  fitful  (I 
am  pained  t&  add,  fruitless)  attempts  at  spelling 
God  in  the  orthodox  fashion.  It  seemed  almost 
as  though  I  had  missed  my  calling  ;  certainly,  I 
was  hardly  successful  as  a  missionary. 

The  circus  failed  to  revive  him  ;  the  beauty  of 
our  young  women  he  regarded  without  interest. 
He  was  less  devout  than  at  first,  when  he  used  to 
insist  upon  entering  every  church  we  came  to  and 
sitting  a  few  moments,  though  frequently  we  were 
the  sole  occupants  of  the  building.  He  would 
steal  away  into  remote  corners  of  the  house,  and 


48  SOUTH- SEA  IDYLS. 

be  gone  for  hours.  Twice  or  three  times  I  discov- 
ered him  in  a  dark  closet,  in  puris  naturalibus, 
toying  with  a  singular  shell  strung  upon  a  feather 
chain.  The  feathers  of  the  chain  I  recognized  as 
those  of  a  strange  bird  held  as  sacred  among  his 
people.  I  began  to  suspect  the  occasion  of  his 
malady  :  he  believed  himself  bewitched  or  accursed 
of  some  one, — a  common  superstition  with  the  dark 
races.  This  revelation  filled  me  with  alarm ;  for 
he  would  think  nothing  of  lying  down  to  die  under 
the  impression  that  it  was  his  fate,  and  no  medi- 
cine under  the  heaven  could  touch  him  further. 

I  began  telling  him  of  my  discovery,  begging 
his  secret  from  him.  In  vain  I  besought  him. 
"  It  was  his  trouble  ;  he  must  go  back  !  "  I  told 
him  he  should  go  back  as  soon  as  possible ;  that 
we  would  look  for  ourselves,  and  see  when  a  vessel 
was  to  sail  again.  I  took  him  among  the  wharves, 
visiting,  in  turn,  nearly  all  the  shipping  moored 
there.  How  he  lingered  about  them,  letting  his 
eyes  wander  over  the  still  bay  into  the  mellow  hazes 
that  sometimes  visit  our  brown  and  dusty  hills  ! 

His  nature  seemed  to  find  an  affinity  in  the 
tranquil  tides,  the  far-sweeping  distances,  the 
alluring  outlines  of  the  coast,  where  it  was  blended 
with  the  sea-line  in  the  ever-mysterious  horizon. 
After  these  visitations,  he  seemed  loath  to  return 
again  among  houses  and  people;  they  oppressed 
and  suffocated  him. 

One  day,  as  we  were  wending  our  way  to  the 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  49 

city  front,  we  passed  a  specimen  of  grotesque 
carving,  in  front  of  a  tobacconist's  establishment. 
Kana-ana  stood  eying  the  painted  model  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  then,  to  the  amazement  and  amusement 
of  the  tobacconist  and  one  or  two  bystanders,  fell 
upon  his  knees  before  it,  and  was  for  a  few  mo- 
ments lost  in  prayer.  It  seemed  to  do  him  a  deal 
of  good,  as  he  was  more  cheerful  after  his  invoca- 
tion, —  for  that  day,  at  least ;  and  we  could  never 
start  upon  any  subsequent  excursion  without  first 
visiting  this  wooden  Indian,  which  he  evidently 
mistook  for  a  god. 

He  began  presently  to  bring  tributes,  in  the 
shape  of  small  cobble-stones,  which  he  surrepti- 
tiously deposited  at  the  feet  of  his  new-found 
deity,  and  passed  on,  rejoicing.  His  small  altar 
grew  from  day  to  day,  and  his  spirits  were  light- 
er as  he  beheld  it  unmolested,  thanks  to  the  in- 
difference of  the  tobacconist  and  the  street  con- 
tractors. 

His  greatest  trials  were  within  the  confines  of 
the  bath-tub.  He  who  had  been  born  to  the  Pa- 
cific, and  reared  among  its  foam  and  breakers,  now 
doomed  to  a  seven-by-three  zinc  box  and  ten 
inches  of  water !  He  would  splash  about  like  a 
trout  in  a  saucer,  bemoaning  his  fate.  Pilgrim- 
ages to  the  beach  were  his  greatest  delight ;  div- 
ings into  the  sea,  so  far  from  town  that  no  one 
could  possibly  be  shocked,  even  with  the  assist- 
ance of  an  opera-glass.  He  used  to  implore  a 

3  D 


50  SOUTH-SEA    IDYLS. 

daily  repetition  of  these  cautious  and  inoffensive 
recreations,  though,  once  in  the  chilly  current,  he 
soon  came  out  of  it,  shivering  and  miserable. 
Where  were  his  warm  sea-waves,  and  the  shining 
beach,  with  the  cocoa-palms  quivering  in  the  in- 
tense fires  of  the  tropical  day1?  How  he  missed 
them  and  mourned  for  them,  crooning  a  little 
chant  in  their  praises,  much  to  the  disparagement 
of  our  dry  hills,  cold  water,  and  careful  people  ! 

In  one  of  our  singular  walks,  when  he  had  been 
unusually  silent,  and  I  had  sought  in  vain  to  lift 
away  the  gloom  that  darkened  his  soul,  I  was 
startled  by  a  quick  cry  of  joy  from  the  lips  of 
the  young  exile, —  a  cry  that  was  soon  turned  into 
a  sharp,  prolonged,  and  pitiful  wail  of  sorrow  and 
despair.  We  had  unconsciously  approached  an 
art-gallery,  the  deep  windows  of  which  were  beau- 
tified with  a  few  choice  landscapes  in  oil.  Kana- 
ana's  restless  and  searching  eye,  doubtless  attracted 
by  the  brilliant  coloring  of  one  of  the  pictures, 
seemed  in  a  moment  to  comprehend  and  assume 
the  rich  and  fervent  spirit  with  which  the  artist 
had  so  successfully  imbued  his  canvas. 

It  was  the  subject  which  had  at  first  delighted 
Kana-ana, — the  splendid  charm  of  its  manipula- 
tion which  so  affected  him,  holding  him  there 
wailing  in  the  bitterness  of  a  natural  and  incon- 
trollable  sorrow.  The  painting  was  illuminated 
with  the  mellowness  of  a  tropical  sunset.  A  trans- 
parent light  seemed  to  transfigure  the  sea  and 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  51 

sky.  The  artist  had  wrought  a  miracle  in  his  in- 
spiration. It  was  a  warm,  hazy,  silent  sunset  for- 
ever. The  outline  of  a  high,  projecting  cliff  was 
barely  visible  in  the  flood  of  misty  glory  that 
spread  over  the  face  of  it,  —  a  cliff  whose  delicate 
tints  of  green  and  crimson  pictured  in  the  mind  a 
pyramid  of  leaves  and  flowers.  A  valley  opened 
its  shadowy  depths  through  the  sparkling  atmos- 
phere, and  in  the  centre  of  this  veiled  chasm  the 
pale  threads  of  two  waterfalls  seemed  to  appear 
and  disappear,  so  exquisitely  was  the  distance  im- 
itated. Gilded  breakers  reeled  upon  a  palm- 
fringed  shore ;  and  the  whole  was  hallowed  by  the 
perpetual  peace  of  an  unbroken  solitude. 

I  at  once  detected  the  occasion  of  Kana-ana's 
agitation.  Here  was  the  valley  of  his  birth,  —  the 
cliff,  the  waterfall,  the  sea,  copied  faithfully,  at  that 
crowning  hour  when  they  are  indeed  supernatu- 
rally  lovely.  At  that  moment,  the  promise  to  him 
of  a  return  would  have  been  mockery.  He  was 
there  in  spirit,  pacing  the  beach,  and  greeting  his 
companions  with  that  liberal  exchange  of  love  pe- 
culiar to  them.  Again  he  sought  our  old  haunt 
by  the  river,  watching  the  sun  go  down.  Again 
he  waited  listlessly  the  coining  of  night. 

It  was  a  wonder  that  the  police  did  not  march 
us  both  off  to  the  station-house ;  for  the  little 
refugee  was  howling  at  the  top  of  his  lungs,  while 
I  endeavored  to  quiet  him  by  bursting  a  sort  of 
vocal  tornado  about  his  ears.  I  then  saw  my 


52  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

error.  I  said  to  myself,  "  I  have  transplanted  a 
flower  from  the  hot  sand  of  the  Orient  to  the  hard 
clay  of  our  more  material  world,  —  a  flower  too 
fragile  to  be  handled,  if  never  so  kindly.  Day 
after  day  it  has  been  fed,  watered,  and  nourished 
by  Nature.  Every  element  of  life  has  ministered 
to  its  development  in  the  most  natural  way.  Its 
attributes  are  God's  and  Nature's  own.  I  bring 
it  hither,  set  it  in  our  tough  soil,  and  endeavor  to 
train  its  sensitive  tendrils  in  one  direction.  There 
is  no  room  for  spreading  them  here,  where  we  are 
overcrowded  already.  It  finds  no  succulence  in 
its  cramped  bed,  no  warmth  in  our  practical  and 
selfish  atmosphere.  It  withers  from  the  root  up- 
ward ;  its  blossoms  are  falling ;  it  will  die  ! "  I 
resolved  it  should  not  die.  Unfortunately,  there 
was  no  bark  announced  to  sail  for  his  island 
home  within  several  weeks.  I  could  only  devote 
my  energies  to  keeping  life  in  that  famishing  soul 
until  it  had  found  rest  in  the  luxurious  clime  of 
its  nativity. 

At  last  the  bark  arrived.  We  went  at  once 
to  see  her ;  and  I  could  hardly  persuade  the  little 
homesick  soul  to  come  back  with  me  at  night. 
He  who  was  the  fire  of  hospitality  and  obliging  to 
the  uttermost,  at  home,  came  very  near  to  mutiny 
just  then. 

It  was  this  civilization  that  had  wounded  him, 
till  the  thought  of  his  easy  and  pleasurable  life 
among  the  barbarians  stung  him  to  madness. 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  53 

Should  he  ever  see  them  again,  his  lovers'?  ever 
climb  with  the  goat-hunters  among  the  clouds 
yonder?  or  bathe,  ride,  sport,  as  he  used  to,  till 
the  day  was  spent  and  the  night  cornel 

Those  little  booths  near  the  wharves,  where 
shells,  corals,  and  gold-fish  are  on  sale,  were  Kana- 
ana's  favorite  haunts  during  the  last  few  days  he 
spent  here.  I  would  leave  him  seated  on  a  box  or 
barrel  by  one  of  those  epitomes  of  Oceanica,  and 
return  two  hours  later,  to  find  him  seated  as  I  had 
left  him,  and  singing  some  weird  mele,  —  some 
legend  of  his  home.  These  musical  diversions 
were  a  part  of  his  nature,  and  a  very  grave  and 
sweet  part  of  it,  too.  A  few  words,  chanted  on  a 
low  note,  began  the  song,  when  the  voice  would 
suddenly  soar  upward  with  a  single  syllable  of  ex- 
ceeding sweetness,  and  there  hang  trembling  in 
bird-like  melody  till  it  died  away  with  the  breath 
of  the  singer. 

Poor,  longing  soul !  I  would  you  had  never  left 
the  life  best  suited  to  you,  —  that  liberty  which 
alone  could  give  expression  to  your  wonderful 
capacities.  Not  many  are  so  rich  in  instincts  to 
read  Nature,  to  translate  her  revelations,  to  speak 
of  her  as  an  orator  endowed  with  her  surpassing 
eloquence. 

It  will  always  be  a  sad  effort,  thinking  of  that 
last  night  together.  There  are  hours  when  the 
experiences  of  a  lifetime  seem  compressed  and 
crowded  together.  One  grows  a  head  taller  in  his 


54  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

soul  at  such  times,  and  perhaps  gets  suddenly 
gray,  as  with  a  fright,  also. 

Kana-ana  talked  and  talked  in  his  pretty,  bro- 
ken English,  telling  me  of  a  thousand  charming 
secrets ;  expressing  all  the  natural  graces  that  at 
first  attracted  me  to  him,  and  imploring  me  over 
and  over  to  return  with  him  and  dwell  in  the  an- 
tipodes. How  near  I  came  to  resolving,  then  and 
there,  that  I  would  go,  and  take  the  consequences, 
• —  how  very  near  I  came  to  it !  He  passed  the 
night  in  coaxing,  promising,  entreating ;  and  was 
never  more  interesting  or  lovable.  It  took  just 
about  all  the  moral  courage  allotted  me  to  keep 
on  this  side  of  barbarism  on  that  eventful  occasion  ; 
and  in  the  morning  Kana-ana  sailed,  with  a  face 
all  over  tears,  and  agony,  and  dust. 

I  begged  him  to  select  something  for  a  remem- 
brancer ;  and  of  all  that  ingenuity  can  invent  and 
art  achieve  he  chose  a  metallic  chain  for  his  neck, 
—  chose  it,  probably,  because  it  glittered  superbly, 
and  was  good  to  string  charms  upon.  He  gave  me 
the  greater  part  of  his  wardrobe,  though  it  can 
never  be  of  any  earthly  use  to  me,  save  as  a  me- 
morial of  a  passing  joy  in  a  life  where  joys  seem  to 
have  little  else  to  do  than  be  brief  and  palatable. 

He  said  he  "  should  never  want  them  again  " ; 
and  he  said  it  as  one  might  say  something  of  the 
same  sort  in  putting  by  some  instrument  of  deg- 
radation,—  conscious  of  renewed  manhood,  but  re- 
membering his  late  humiliation,  and  bowing  to 
that  remembrance. 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  55 

So  K ana-ana,  and  the  bark,  and  all  that  I  ever 
knew  of  genuine,  spontaneous,  and  unfettered  love 
sailed  into  the  west,  and  went  down  with  the  sun 
in  a  glory  of  air,  sea,  and  sky,  trebly  glorious  that 
evening.  I  shall  never  meet  the  sea  when  it  is 
bluest  without  thinking  of  one  who  is  its  child 
and  master.  I  shall  never  see  mangoes  and 
bananas  without  thinking  of  him  who  is  their 
brother,  born  and  brought  up  with  them.  I  shall 
never  smell  cassia,  or  clove,  or  jessamine,  but  a 
thought  of  Karia-ana  will  be  borne  upon  their 
breath.  A  flying  skiff,  land  in  the  far  distance 
rising  slowly,  drifting  sea-grasses,  a  clear  voice 
burdened  with  melody, — all  belong  to  him,  and 
are  a  part  of  him. 

I  resign  my  office.  I  think  that,  perhaps,  in- 
stead of  my  having  converted  the  little  cannibal, 
he  may  have  converted  me.  I  am  sure,  at  least, 
that  if  we  two  should  begin  a  missionary  work 
upon  one  another,  I  should  be  the  first  to  experi- 
ence the  great  change.  I  sent  my  convert  home, 
feeling  he  was  n't  quite  so  good  as  when  I  first 
got  him  ;  and  I  truly  wish  him  as  he  was. 

I  can  see  you,  my  beloved,  —  sleeping,  naked, 
in  the  twilight  of  the  west.  The  winds  kiss  you 
with  pure  and  fragrant  lips.  The  sensuous  waves 
invite  you  to  their  embrace.  Earth  again  offers 
you  her  varied  store.  Partake  of  her  offering,  and 
be  satisfied.  Return,  0  troubled  soul  !  to  your 


56  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

first  and  natural  joys  :  they  were  given  you  by 
the  Divine  hand  that  can  do  no  ill.  In  the  smoke 
of  the  sacrifice  ascends  the  prayer  of  your  race. 
As  the  incense  fadeth  and  is  scattered  upon  the 
winds  of  heaven,  so  shall  your  people  separate, 
nevermore  to  assemble  among  the  nations.  So 
perish  your  superstitions,  your  necromancies,  your 
ancient  arts  of  war,  and  the  unwritten  epics  of 
your  kings. 

Alas,  Kana-ana !  As  the  foam  of  the  sea  you 
love,  as  the  fragrance  of  the  flower  you  worship, 
shall  your  precious  body  be  wasted,  and  your  un- 
trammelled soul  pass  to  the  realms  of  your  fathers. 

Our  day  of  communion  is  over.  Behold  how 
Night  extends  her  wings  to  cover  you  from  my 
sight !  She  may,  indeed,  hide  your  presence ; 
she  may  withhold  from  me  the  mystery  of  your 
future  :  but  she  cannot  take  from  me  that  which 
I  have  ;  she  cannot  rob  rne  of  the  rich  influences 
of  your  past. 

Dear  comrade,  pardon  and  absolve  your  spirit- 
ual adviser,  for  seeking  to  remould  so  delicate 
and  original  a  soul  as  yours ;  and,  though  neither 
prophet  nor  priest,  I  yet  give  you  the  kiss  of 
peace  at  parting,  and  the  benediction  of  unceas- 
ing love. 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  57 

PART  III. 
BARBARIAN    DAYS. 

WE  had  been  watching  intently  the  faint, 
shadowy  outline  along  the  horizon,  and  wonder- 
ing whether  it  were  really  land,  or  but  a  cloudy 
similitude  of  it ;  while  we  bore  down  upon  it 
all  the  afternoon  in  fine  style,  and  the  breeze 
freshened  as  evening  came  on.  It  was  all  clear 
sailing,  and  we  were  in  pretty  good  spirits.  — 
which  is  not  always  the  case  with  landsmen  at 
sea. 

Sitting  there  on  the  after-deck,  I  had  asked 
myself,  more  than  once,  If  life  were  made  up  of 
placid  days  like  this,  how  long  would  life  be 
sweet  ?  I  gave  it  up  every  time  ;  for  one  is  not 
inclined  to  consider  so  curiously  as  to  press  any 
problem  to  a  solution  in  those  indolent  lati- 
tudes. 

Perhaps  it  was  Captain  Kidd  who  told  me  he  had 
sailed  out  of  a  twelve-knot  breeze  on  a  sudden,  — 
slipping  off  the  edges  of  it,  as  it  were,  —  and  found 
his  sails  all  aback  as  he  slid  into  a  dead  calm. 
There,  rocking  in  still  weather,  he  saw  another 
bark,  almost  within  hail,  blown  into  the  west  and 
out  of  sight,  like  a  bird  in  a  March  gale. 

I  wonder  what  caused  me  to  think  of  Kidd's 
experiences  just  then  1  I  can't  imagine,  unless  it 
3* 


58  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

was  some  prescient  shadow  floating  in  my  neighbor- 
hood, —  the  precursor  of  the  little  event  that  fol- 
lowed. Such  things  do  happen,  and  when  we  least 
expect  it ;  though,  fortunately,  they  don't  worry 
us  as  a  general  thing.  I  did  n't  worry  at  all,  but 
sat  there  by  myself,  while  some  of  my  fellow-pas- 
sengers took  a  regular  " constitutional"  up  and 
down  the  deck,  and  over  and  over  it,  until  the 
nervous  woman  below  in  the  cabin  "  blessed  her 
stars,"  and  wished  herself  ashore. 

I  preferred  sitting  and  pondering  over  the  cloud 
that  seemed  slowly  to  rise  from  the  sea,  assuming 
definite  and  undeniable  appearances  of  land. 

I  knew  very  well  what  land  it  must  be  :  one  of 
a  group  of  islands  every  inch  of  which  I  had  trav- 
ersed with  the  zeal  of  youthful  enthusiasm  ;  but 
which  of  them,  was  a  question  I  almost  feared  to 
have  answered.  Yet,  what  difference  could  it 
make  to  me  !  The  land  was  providentially  in  our 
course,  but  not  on  our  way-bill.  If  we  were  within 
gunshot  of  its  loveliest  portion,  we  must  needs  pass 
on  as  frigidly  as  though  it  were  Chary bdis,  or 
something  equally  dreadful ;  and  I  began  to  think 
it  might  be  something  of  the  sort,  because  of  its 
besetting  temptations. 

There  was  not  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  cer- 
tainty of  its  being  land,  when  we  went  down  to 
cupper;  and  at  sunset  we  knew  the  dark  spots 
were  valleys,  and  the  bright  ones  hills.  I  fancied 
a  hundred  bronze-hued  faces  were  turned  toward 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  59 

us,  as  we  seemed  to  twinkle  away  off  in  their  sun- 
set sea  like  a  fallen  star,  or  something  of  that  sort. 
I  thought  I  could  almost  hear  the  sea  beating 
upon  the  crusts  of  the  reef  in  the  twilight ;  but 
perhaps  I  did  n't,  for  the  land  was  miles  away, 
and  night  hid  it  presently,  while  the  old  solitude 
of  the  ocean  impressed  us  all  as  though  we  were 
again  in  the  midst  of  its  unbroken,  circular  wastes. 
Then  they  played  whist  in  the  cabin,  —  all  but 
me.  I  hung  over  the  ship's  side,  resolved  to 
watch  all  night  for  the  lights  on  shore,  —  the  flick- 
ering watch-fires  in  the  mountain  camps ;  for  I 
knew  I  should  see  them,  as  we  were  bound  to 
pass  the  island  before  morning. 

The  night  was  intensely  dark  ;  clouds  muffled 
the  stars,  and  not  a  spark  of  light  was  visible  in 
any  direction  over  the  waters.  A  shower  could 
easily  have  quenched  the  beacons  I  was  seeking, 
and  my  vigil  soon  became  tedious ;  so  presently 
I  followed  the  others  and  turned  in,  rather  discon- 
solate and  disgusted. 

Toward  midnight  the  wind  fell  rapidly,  and 
within  half  an  hour  we  found  ourselves  in  a  dead 
calm,  when  the  moan  of  the  breakers  was  quite 
audible  on  our  starboard  quarter.  The  Captain 
Was  nervous  and  watchful ;  the  currents  in  the 
channel'were  strong,  and  he  saw,  by  the  variation 
in  the  compass,  that  the  vessel  was  being  whirled 
in  a  great  circle  around  a  point  of  the  island. 

Fortunately  it   began   to  get  light   before  the 


60  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

danger  grew  imminent.  At  three  o'clock  we  were 
within  soundings,  and  shortly  after  we  plumped 
the  anchor  into  the  rough  coral  at  the  bottom  of 
a  pretty  little  harbor,  where,  the  Captain  informed 
us,  we  must  ride  all  day  and  get  out  with  the 
land-breeze,  that  would  probably  come  down  at 
night.  I  rushed  up  in  the  gray  dawn,  and  bent 
rny  gaze  upon  the  shore.  I  think  I  must  have 
turned  pale,  or  trembled  a  little,  or  done  some- 
thing sensational  and  appropriate,  though  no  one 
observed  it ;  whereat  I  was  rather  glad,  on  the 
whole,  for  they  could  not  have  understood  it  if  I 
had  done  my  best  to  explain,  —  which  I  had  not 
the  least  idea  of  doing,  however,  for  it  was  none 
of  their  affair. 

I  knew  that  place  the  moment  T  saw  it,  —  the 
very  spot  of  all  I  most  desired  to  see  ;  and  I 
resolved,  in  my  secret  soul,  to  go  ashore,  there 
and  then ;  amicably  if  I  might,  forcibly  if  I 
must. 

The  Captain  was  not  over-genial  that  morning, 
either ;  he  hated  detention,  and  was  a  trifle  ner- 
vous about  being  tied  up  under  the  lee  of  the 
land  for  twelve  or  twenty  hours.  So  he  growled 
if  any  one  approached  him  all  that  day,  and  posi- 
tively refused  to  allow  the  ship's  boat  to  be  touched, 
unless  we  drifted  upon  the  rocks,  broadside,  — 
which,  he  seemed  to  think,  was  not  entirely  out 
of  the  question.  I  was  sure  there  would  be  a 
canoe  —  perhaps  several  —  alongside  by  sunrise ; 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  61 

so  I  said  nothing,  but  waited  in  silence,  deter- 
mined to  desert  when  the  time  came  ;  and  the 
Captain  might  whistle  me  back  if  he  could. 

Presently  the  time  came.  We  were  rocking 
easily  on  the  swell,  directly  to  the  eastward  of  a 
deep  valley.  The  sky  was  ruddy;  the  air  fresh 
and*  invigorating,  but  soft  as  the  gales  of  Paradise. 
We  were  in  the  tropics.  You  would  have  known 
it  with  your  eyes  shnt ;  the  whole  wonderful  at- 
mosphere confessed  it.  But,  with  your  eyes  open, 
those  white  birds,  sailing  like  snow-flakes  through 
the  immaculate  blue  heavens,  with  tail-feathers 
like  our  pennant ;  the  floating  gardens  of  the  sea, 
through  which  we  had  been  ruthlessly  ploughing  for 
a  couple  of  days  back ;  the  gorgeous  sunrises  and 
sunsets,  —  all  were  proofs  positive  of  our  latitude. 

What  a  sunrise  it  was  on  that  morning  !  Yet  I 
stood  with  my  back  to  it,  looking  west ;  for  there 
I  saw,  firstly,  the  foam  on  the  reef — as  crimson 
as  blood  —  falling  over  the  wine-stained  waves ; 
then  it  changed  as  the  sun  ascended,  like  clouds 
of  golden  powder,  indescribably  magnificent,  shaken 
and  scattered  upon  the  silver  snow-drifts  of  the 
coral  reef,  dazzling  to  behold,  and  continually 
changing. 

Beyond  it,  in  the  still  water,  was  reflected  a 
long,  narrow  strip  of  beach ;  above  it,  green  pas- 
tures and  umbrageous  groves,  with  native  huts, 
like  great  bird's-nests,  half  hidden  among  them ; 
and  the  weird,  slender  cocoa-palms  were  there, — 


62  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

those  exclamation-points  in  the  poetry  of  tropic 
landscape.  All  this  lay  slumbering  securely  be- 
tween high  walls  of  verdure ;  while  at  the  upper 
end,  where  the  valley  was  like  a  niche  set  in  the 
green  and  glorious  mountains,  two  waterfalls  float- 
ed downward  like  smoke-columns  on  a  heavy  morn- 
ing. Angels  and  ministers  of  grace  !  do  yort,  in 
your  airy  perambulations,  visit  haunts  more  lovely 
than  this  1  —  as  lovely  as  that  undiscovered  coun- 
try from  whose  bourn  the  traveller  would  rather 
not  look  back,  premising  that  the  traveler  were 
as  singularly  constituted  as  I  am ;  which  is,  per- 
adventure,  not  probable. 

They  knew  it  was  morning  almost  as  soon  as 
we  did,  though  they  lived  a  few  furlongs  farther 
west,  and  had  no  notion  of  the  immediate  prox- 
imity of  a  strange  craft,  —  by  no  means  rakish  in 
her  rig,  however ;  only  a  simple  merchantman, 
bound  for  Auckland  from  San  Francisco,  but  the 
victim  of  circumstances,  and,  in  consequence,  tied 
to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  when  half-way  over. 

They  knew  it  was  morning.  I  saw  them  swarm- 
ing out  of  their  grassy  nests,  brown,  sleek-limbed, 
and  naked.  They  regarded  with  amazement  our 
floating  home.  The  news  spread,  and  the  groves 
were  suddenly  peopled  with  my  dear  barbarians, 
who  hate  civilization  almost  as  much  as  I  do,  and 
are  certainly  quite  as  idolatrous  and  indolent  as  I 
ever  aspire  to  be. 

1   turned  my  palms  outward  toward  them  ;  I 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  63 

lifted  up  my  voice,  and  cried,  "  Hail,  my  brothers  ! 
We  hasten  with  the  morning ;  we  follow  after  the 
sun.  Greetings  to  you,  dwellers  in  the  West !  " 

Nobody  heard  me.  I  looked  again.  Down  they 
came  npon  the  shore,  wading  into  the  sea.  Then 
such  a  carnival  as  they  celebrated  in  the  shallow 
water  was  a  novelty  for  some  of  my  cabin  friends ; 
but  I  knew  all  about  it.  I  'd  done  the  same  thing 
often  enough  myself,  when  I  was  young,  and  free, 
and  innocent,  and  savage.  I  knew  they  were  ask- 
ing themselves  a  thousand  questions  as  to  our 
sudden  appearance  in  their  seas,  and  would  rather 
like  to  know  who  we  were,  and  where  we  were 
going,  but  scorned  to  ask  us.  They  had  once  or 
twice  been  visited  by  the  same  sort  of  whitish- 
looking  people,  and  they  had  found  those  colorless 
faces  uncivil,  and  the  bleached-out  skins  by  no 
means  to  be  trusted  with  those  whom  they  consid- 
ered their  inferiors.  They  did  n't  know  that  it  is 
one  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  Civilization  to 
bully  one's  way  through  the  world.  Then  I  prayed 
that  they  might  be  moved  to  send  out  a  canoe,  so 
that  I  could  debark  and  go  inland  for  the  day.  I 
prayed  very  earnestly,  and  out  she  came,  —  one  of 
their  tiny,  fragile  canoes,  looking  like  a  deserted 
chrysalis,  with  the  invisible  wings  of  the  spiritual, 
tutelary  butterfly  wafting  it  over  the  waves.  In 
this  chrysalis  dug-out  sat  a  tough  little  body,  with 
a  curly  head,  which  I  recognized  in  a  minute  as 
belonging  to  a  once  friend  and  comrade  in  my 


64  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

delightful  exile,  when  I  was  a  successful  prodigal, 
and  wasted  my  substance  in  the  most  startling 
and  effectual  manner,  and  enjoyed  it  a  great  deal 
better  than  if  I  had  kept  it  in  the  bank,  as  they 
advised  me  to  do.  On  he  came,  beating  the  sea 
with  his  broad  paddle,  alternately  by  either  side 
of  the  canoe,  and  regarding  us  with  a  commend- 
able degree  of  suspicion.  I  greeted  him  in  his 
peculiar  dialect.  The  gift  of  tongues  seemed  sud- 
denly to  have  descended  upon  me,  for  I  found 
little  difficulty  in  saying  everything  I  wanted  to 
say,  in  a  remarkably  brief  space  of  time. 

"  Hail,  little  friend  !  "  said  I ;  "  great  love  to  you. 
How  is  it  on  shore  now  V 

He  replied  that  it  was  decidedly  nice  on  shore 
now,  and  that  his  love  for  me  was  as  much  as  mine 
for  him,  and  more  too,  and  that  consequently  he 
was  prepared  to  conduct  me  thither,  regardless  of 
expense. 

I  went  with  that  lovely  boy  on  shore.  The 
Captain  could  not  resist  my  persuasive  appeals  for 
a  short  leave  of  absence,  and  so  I  went.  Perhaps 
it  would  not  have  been  advisable  for  him  to  have 
suppressed  me;  and.  he  made  a  courteous  virtue 
of  necessity. 

I  had  leave  to  stop  till  evening,  unless  I  heard 
a  signal-gun,  upon  hearing  which  I  was  to  return 
immediately  on  board,  or  suffer  the  consequences. 

Now,  I  am  free  to  confess,  that  the  consequences 
did  n't  appall  me  as  we  swung  off  from  the  vessel, 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  65 

where  I  had  been  an  uneasy  prisoner  for  many 
days ;  and  I  fell  to  chatting  with  Niga,  my  dusky 
friend,  in  a  sort  of  desperate  joy. 

Niga  was  a  regular  trump.  He  had  more 
than  once  piled  on  horseback  behind  me,  in  the 
sweet  days  when  we  used  to  rid 3  double, — yea, 
and  even  treble,  if  necessary.  There  was  usually 
a  great  deal  more  boy  than  horse  on  the  premises ; 
hence  this  questionable  economy  in  our  cavalry 
regulations.  Niga  told  me  many  things  as  we 
drew  near  the  reef:  he  talked  of  nearly  everybody 
and  everything ;  but  of  all  that  he  told  me,  he  said 
nothing  of  the  one  I  most  longed  to  hear  about. 
Yet,  somehow  or  other,  I  could  not  quite  bring 
myself  to  ask  him,  out  and  out,  this  question. 
You  know,  sometimes  it  is  hard  to  shape  words 
just  as  you  want  them  shaped,  and  the  question 
is  never  asked  in  consequence. 

The  reef  was  growling  tremendously.  We  were 
drawing  nearer  to  it  every  moment.  I  thought 
the  chances  were  against  us ;  but  Niga  was  self- 
possessed,  and,  as  he  had  crossed  it  once  that 
morning,  —  and  in  the  more  dangerous  direction 
of  the  two,  that  is,  against  the  grain  of  the 
waves,  —  I  concluded  there  was  no  special  need  of 
my  making  a  scene ;  and  in  the  next  moment  we 
were  poised  on  a  terrific  cataract  of  glittering  and 
rushing  breakers,  snatched  up  and  held  trembling 
in  mid-air,  with  the  canoe  half  filled  with  water, 
and  I  perfectly  blind  with  spray. 


66  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

It  was  a  memorable  moment  in  a  very  short 
voyage  ;  and  the  general  verdict  on  board  ship, 
where  they  were  watching  us  with  some  interest, 
was,  that  it  served  me  right. 

When  my  eyes  were  once  more  free  of  the 
water,  I  found  myself  in  the  midst  of  the  natives, 
who  had  been  waiting  just  inside  of  the  reef  to 
receive  us ;  and,  as  they  recognized  me,  they  laid 
a  hand  on  the  canoe,  as  many  as  could  crowd 
about  it,  fairly  lifting  it  out  of  the  water  on  our 
way  to  the  shore,  all  the  while  wailing  at  the  top 
of  their  voices  their  mournful  and  desolate  wail. 

It  was  impossible  for  me  to  decide  whether 
that  chant  of  theirs  was  an  expression  of  joy,  or 
sorrow  :  the  nature  of  it  is  precisely  the  same,  in 
either  case. 

So  we  went  on  shore  in  our  little  triumphal 
procession,  and  there  I  was  embraced  in  a  very 
emphatic  manner  by  savages  of  every  conceivable 
sex,  age,  and  color.  Having  mutely  submitted  to 
their  genuine  expressions  of  love,  I  was  conducted 
—  a  willing  and  bewildered  captive  —  along  the 
beach,  around  the  little  point  that  separates  the 
river  from  the  sea,  and  thence  by  the  river-bank 
to  the  house  I  knew  so  well.  I  believe  I  looked 
at  every  dusky  face  in  that  assemblage,  two  or 
three  times  over,  but  saw  not  the  one  I  sought. 

What  could  it  mean]  Was  he  hunting  in  the 
mountains,  or  fishing  beyond  the  headland,  or 
sick,  or  in  prison,  that  he  came  not  to  greet  me  ] 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  67 

Surely,  something  had  befallen  him,  —  something 
serious  and  unusual,  —  or  he  would  have  been  the 
first  to  welcome  me  home  to  barbarism  ! 

A  strange  dread  clouded  my  mind  :  it  increased 
and  multiplied  as  we  passed  on  toward  the  house 
that  had  been  home  to  me.  Then,  having  led  me 
to  the  outer  door,  the  people  all  sat  there  upon 
the  ground,  and  began  wailing  piteously. 

1  hastily  crossed  the  narrow  outer  room,  lifted 
the  plaited  curtain,  and  entered  the  inner  cham- 
ber, where  I  had  spent  my  strange,  wild  holiday 
long  months  before.  I  looked  earnestly  about 
me,  while  my  eyes  gradually  became  familiar 
with  the  dull  light.  Nothing  seemed  changed. 
I  could  point  at  once  to  almost  every  article  in 
the  room.  It  seemed  but  yesterday  that  I  had 
stolen  away  from  them  in  the  gray  dawn,  and 
repented  my  desertion  too  late. 

I  soon  grew  accustomed  to  the  sombre  light  of 
the  room.  I  saw  sitting  about  me,  in  the  corners, 
bowed  figures,  with  their  faces  hidden  in  grief. 
There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  as  to  the  nature 
of  their  emotion.  It  was  grief  that  had  stricken 
the  household,  and  the  grief  that  death  alone 
occasions.  I  counted  every  figure  in  the  room ; 
I  recognized  each,  the  same  that  I  had  known 
when  I  dwelt  among  them  :  he  alone  was  absent. 

I  don't  know  what  possessed  me  at  that  mo- 
ment. I  felt  an  almost  uncontrollable  desire  to 
laugh,  as  though  it  were  some  masque  gotten  up 


68  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

for  my  amusement.  Then  I  wished  they  would 
cease  their  masking,  for  I  felt  too  miserable  to 
laugh.  Then  I  was  utterly  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
to  do ;  so  I  walked  to  the  old-fashioned  bed  —  our 
old-fashioned  bed  —  in  the  corner,  looking  just  as 
it  used  to.  I  think  the  same  old  spider  was  there 
still,  clinging  to  the  canopy ;  the  very  same  old 
fellow, 'in  his  harlequin  tights,  that  we  used  to 
watch,  and  talk  about,  and  wonder  what  he  was 
thinking  of,  to  stop  so  still,  day  after  day,  and 
week  after  week,  up  there  on  the  canopy.  I  threw 
myself  upon  the  edge  of  the  bed,  my  feet  resting 
upon  the  floor;  and  there  I  tried  to  think  of 
everything  but  that  one  dreadful  reality  that 
would  assert  itself,  in  spite  of  my  efforts  to 
deny  it. 

Where  was  my  friend  1  Where  could  he  be, 
that  these,  his  friends,  were  so  bowed  with  sorrow  1 
The  question  involved  a  revelation,  already  antici- 
pated in  my  mind.  That  revelation  I  dreaded  as 
I  would  dread  my  own  death-sentence.  But  it 
came  at  last.  A  woman  who  had  been  humbling 
herself  in  the  dust  moved  toward  me  from  the 
shadow  that  half  concealed  her.  She  did  not  rise 
to  her  feet ;  she  was  half  reclining  on  the  mats  of 
the  floor,  her  features  veiled  in  the  long,  black 
hair  of  her  race.  One  hand  was  extended  toward 
me,  then  the  other ;  the  body  followed ;  and  so 
she  moved,  slowly  and  painfully,  toward  the  bed- 
side. 


CHUMMING   WITH  A  SAVAGE.  69 

It  was  his  mother.  I  knew  her  intuitively. 
Close  to  the  bed  she  came,  and  crouched  by  me, 
upon  the  floor.  There,  with  one  hand  clasped 
close  over  mine,  the  other  flooded  with  her  copious 
tears,  and  her  forehead  bowed  almost  to  the  floor, 
she  poured  forth  the  measure  of  her  woe.  The 
moment  her  voice  was  heard,  those  out  of  the 
house  ceased  wailing,  and  seemed  to  be  listening 
to  the  elegy  of  the  bereaved. 

Her  voice  was  husky  with  grief;  broken  again 
and  again  with  sobs.  I  seemed  to  understand 
perfectly  the  nature  of  her  story,  though  my 
knowledge  of  the  dialect  was  very  deficient. 

The  mother's  soul  was  quickened  with  her 
pathetic  theme.  The  frenzy  of  the  poet  inspired 
her  lips.  It  was  an  epic  she  was  chanting,  cele- 
brating the  career  of  her  boy-hero.  She  told  of 
his  birth,  and  wonderful  childhood ;  of  his  beauti- 
ful strength  ;  of  his  sublime  affection,  and  the 
friend  it  had  brought  him  from  over  the  water. 

She  referred  frequently  to  our  former  associa- 
tions, and  seemed  to  delight  in  dwelling  upon 
them.  Then  came  the  story  of  his  death,  —  the 
saddest  canto  of  the  melancholy  whole. 

How  shall  I  ever  forgive  myself  the  selfish 
pleasure  I  took  in  striving  to  remodel  an  immortal 
soul  1  What  business  had  I  to  touch  so  sensitive 
an  organism ;  susceptible  of  infinite  impressions, 
but  incapable,  in  its  prodigality,  of  separating  and 
dismissing  the  evil,  and  retaining  only  the  good,  — 


70  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

therefore  fit  only  to  increase  and  develop  in  the 
suitable  atmosphere  with  which  the  Creator  had 
surrounded  it  1 

Why  did  I  not  foresee  the  climax  ? 

I  mu>'ht  have  known  that  one  reared  in  the  nur- 

o 

sery  of  Nature,  as  free  to  speak  and  act  as  the 
very  winds  of  heaven  to  blow  whither  they  list, 
could  ill  support  the  manacles  of  our  modern 
proprieties.  Of  what  use  to  him  could  be  a 
knowledge  of  the  artifices  of  society  ?  Simply  a 
temptation  and  a  snare  ! 

What  was  the  story  of  his  fate  ?  That  he  came 
safely  home,  rejoicing  in  his  natural  freedom  ;  that 
he  could  not  express  his  delight  at  finding  home 
so  pleasant ;  that  his  days  were  spent  in  telling 
of  the  wonderful  things  he  had  seen  :  more  sects 
than  the  gods  of  the  South  Seas ;  more  doubters 
than  believers ;  contradictions,  and  insults,  and 
suspicions,  everywhere.  They  laughed  again, 
when  they  thought  of  us,  and  pitied  us  all  the 
while. 

But  his  exhilaration  wore  off,  after  a  time. 
Then  came  the  reaction.  A  restlessness  ;  an  un- 
defined, unsatisfied  longing.  Life  became  a  bur- 
den. The  seed  of  dissension  had  fallen  in  fresh 
and  fallow  soil  :  it  was  a  souvenir  of  his  sojourn 
among  us.  He,  the  child  of  Nature,  must  now 
follow  out  the  artificial  and  hollow  life  of  the 
world,  or  die  unsatisfied  ;  for  he  could  not  return 
to  his  original  sphere  of  trust  and  contentment. 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  71 

He  had  learned  to  doubt  all  things,  as  naturally 
as  any  of  us. 

For  days  he  moaned  in  spirit,  and  was  troubled  ; 
nothing  consoled  him  \  his  soul  was  broken  of  its 
rest ;  he  grew  desperate  and  melancholy. 

I  believe  he  was  distracted  with  the  problem  of 
society,  and  I  cannot  wonder  at  it.  One  day, 
when  his  condition  had  become  no  longer  endur- 
able, he  stole  off  to  sea  in  his  canoe,  thinking, 
perhaps,  that  he  could  reach  this  continent,  or 
some  other ;  possibly  hoping  never  again  to  meet 
human  faces,  for  he  could  not  trust  them. 

It  was  his  heroic  exit  from  a  life  that  no  longer 
interested  him.  Great  was  the  astonishment  of 
the  Islanders,  who  looked  upon  him  as  one  pos- 
sessed of  the  Evil  Spirit,  and  special  sacrifices 
were  offered  in  his  behalf;  but  the  gods  were  inex- 
orable ;  and,  after  several  days  upon  the  solitary 
sea,  a  shadow,  a  mote,  drifted  toward  the  valley, 
—  a  canoe,  \vith  a  famishing  and  delirious  voyager, 
that  was  presently  tossed  and  broken  in  the  surges  ; 
then,  a  dark  body  glistened  for  a  moment,  wet 
with  spray,  and  sank  forever,  while  the  shining 
coral  reef  was  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  first- 
born. 

I  heard  it  all  in  the  desolate  wail  of  the  mother, 
yet  could  not  weep ;  my  eyes  burned  like  fire. 

Little  Niga  came  for  me  presently,  and  led  me 
into  the  great  grove  of  kamane-trees,  up  the  valley. 
He  insisted  upon  holding  me  by  the  hand  :  it  was 


72  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

all  he  could  do  to  comfort  me,  and  he  did  that 
with  his  whole  soul. 

In  silence  we  pressed  on  to  one  of  the  largest 
of  the  trees.  I  recognized  it  at  once.  Niga  and 
I,  one  day,  went  thither,  and  I  cut  a  name  upon 
the  soft  bark  of  the  tree. 

When  we  reached  it  we  paused.  Niga  pointed 
with  his  finger  ;  I  looked.  It  was  there  yet,  —  a 
simple  name,  carved  in  the  rudest  fashion.  I  read 
the  letters,  which  had  since  become  an  epitaph. 
They  were  these  :  — 

"KANA-ANA,  Jft.  16  yrs." 

Under  them  were  three  initials,  —  my  own,  — 
cut   by  the  hand  of  Kaua-ana,  after  his  return 
from  America. 

We  sat  down  in  the  gloomy  grove.  "  Tell 
me,"  I  said,  "tell  me,  Niga,  where  has  his  spirit 
gone  ? " 

"  He  is  here,  now,"  said  Niga ;  "  he  can  see  us. 
Perhaps,  some  day,  we  shall  see  him." 

"  You  have  more  faith  than  our  philosophers, 
for  they  have  reasoned  themselves  out  of  every- 
thing. Would  you  like  to  be  a  philosopher, 
Niga?"  I  asked. 

Niga  thought,  if  they  were  going  to  die,  body 
and  soul,  that  he  would  n't  like  to  be  anything  of 
the  sort,  and  that  he  had  rather  be  a  first-class 
savage  than  a  fourth-rate  Christian,  any  day. 

I  interrupted  him  at  this  alarming  assertion. 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  73 

"  The  philosophers  would  call  your  faith  a  super- 
stition, Niga ;  they  do  not  realize  that  there  is 
no  true  faith  unmixed  with  superstition,  since 
faith  implies  a  belief  in  something  unseen,  and  is, 
therefore,  itself  a  superstition.  Blessed  is  the 
man  who  believes  blindly,  —  call  it  what  you 
please, — for  peace  shall  dwell  in  his  soul.  But, 
Niga,'M  continued,  "where  is  God ?" 

"  Here,  and  here,  and  here,"  said  Niga,  pointing 
me  to  a  grotesque  carving  in  the  sacred  grove,  to 
a  monument  upon  the  distant  precipice,  and  to  a 
haap  of  rocks  in  the  sea;  and  the  smile  of  recog- 
nition with  which  the  little  votary  greeted  his 
idols  was  a  solemn  proof  of  his  sincerity. 

"  Niga,"  I  said,  "  we  call  you  and  your  kind 
heathens.  It  is  a  harmless  anathema,  which  can- 
not, in  the  least,  affect  you  personally.  Ask  us  if 
we  love  God  !  Of  course  we  do.  Do  we  love 
him  above  all  things,  animate  or  inanimate?  Un- 
doubtedly !  Undoubtedly  is  easily  said,  and  let 
us  give  ourselves  credit  for  some  honesty.  We 
believe  that  we  do  love  God,  above  all ;  that  we 
have  no  other  gods  before  him;  yet,  who  of  us 
will  give  up  wealth,  home,  friends,  and  follow 
him  1  Not  one  !  The  God  we  love  is  a  very 
vague,  invisible,  forbearing  essence.  He  can 
afford  to  be  lenient  with  us  while  we  are  debating 
whether  our  neighbor  is  serving  him  in  the  right 
fashion,  or  not.  We  'd  rather  not  have  other  gods 
before  him  :  one  is  as  many  as  we  find  it  couven- 
4 


74  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

ient  to  serve.  The  lover  kisses  passionately  a 
miniature.  It  is  not,  however,  an  image  of  his 
Creator,  nor  any  memorial  of  his  Redeemer's 
passion,  but  only  a  portrait  of  his  mistress.  Do 
you  blame  us,  Niga  1  It  is  the  strongest  instinct 
of  our  nature  to  worship  something.  Man  is  a 
born  idolater,  and  not  one  of  us  is  exempted  by 
reason  of  any  scruples  under  the  sun.  You  sec  it 
daily  and  hourly  :  each  one  has  his  idols." 

Little  Niga,  who  sympathized  deeply  with  me, 
seemed  to  have  gotten  some  knowledge  of  our 
peculiarly  mixed  theories  concerning  God  and  the 
future  state,  from  conversations  overheard  after  the 
return  of  Kana-ana.  He  tried  to  console  me  with 
the  assurance  that  Kana-ana  died  a  devoted  and 
unshaken  adherent  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers. 

I  could  n't  but  feel  that  his  blood  was  off  my 
hands  when  I  learned  this ;  and  I  believe  I  gave 
Niga  a  regular  hug  in  that  moment  of  joy. 

Then  we  walked  here  and  there,  through  the 
valley,  and  visited  the  old  haunts,  made  memo- 
rable by  many  incidents  in  that  romantic  and 
chivalrous  life  of  the  South.  Every  one  we  met 
had  some  word  to  add  concerning  the  Pride  of  the 
Valley,  dead  in  his  glorious  youth. 

Over  and  over,  they  assured  me  of  his  fidelity 
to  me,  his  white  brother,  adding  that  Kana-ar.a 
had,  more  than  once,  expressed  the  deepest  regret 
at  not  having  brought  me  back  with  him. 

He  even  meditated  sending  for  me,  in  the  same 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  75 

manner  that  I  had  sent  for  him ;  and,  if  he  had 
clone  so,  it  was  his  purpose  to  see  that  I  was  at 
once  made  familiar  with  their  Articles  of  Faith ; 
for  he  anticipated  a  willing  convert  in  me,  and  it 
was  the  desire  of  his  heart  that  I  should  know 
that  perfect  trust,  peculiar  to  his  people,  and 
which  is  begotten  of  the  brief  gospel,  so  often 
quoted  out  of  place :  namely,  that  "  seeing  is 
believing." 

It  was  a  kind  thought  of  his,  and  I  wish  he  had 
carried  it  into  execution,  for  then  he  might  have 
lived.  It  was  his  susceptible  nature  that  had 
come  in  contact  with  the  great  world,  and  received 
its  death-wound.  Had  I  been  there  to  help  him, 
I  would  have  planned  something  to  divert  his 
mind  until  he  had  recovered  himself,  and  was 
willing  to  submit  to  the  monotony  of  life  over 
yonder.  Had  he  not  done  as  much  for  me  ?  Had 
he  not  striven,  day  after  day,  to  charm  me  with 
his  barbarism,  and  come  very  near  to  success  1  I 
should  say  he  had.  Dear  little  martyr  !  was  he 
not  the  only  boy  I  ever  truly  loved,  —  dead  now 
in  his  blossoming  prime  ! 

0  Kana-ana !  Little  Niga  and  I  sat  talking  of 
you,  down  by  the  sea,  and  we  wept  for  you  at 
last ;  for  the  tears  came  by  and  by,  when  I  began 
to  fully  realize  the  greatness  of  my  loss.  All 
your  youth,  and  beauty,  and  freshness,  in  destruc- 
tion, and  your  body  swallowed  up  in  the  graves  of 
the  sea  ! 


76  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

The  meridian  sun  blazed  overhead,  but  it  made 
little  difference  to  us.  Afternoon  passed,  and 
evening  was  coming  on  almost  unheeded  ;  for  our 
thoughts  were  buried  with  him,  under  the  waves, 
and  life  was  nothing  to  us,  then. 

I  no  longer  cared  to  observe  the  lights  and 
shadows  on  the  cliffs,  nor  the  poppy  nodding  in 
the  wind,  nor  the  seaward  prospect :  that  was 
spoiled  by  our  vessel,  —  the  seclusion  was  broken 
in  upon.  I  cared  for  nothing  any  longer,  for  I 
missed  everywhere  his  step,  patient  and  faithful 
as  a  dog's,  and  his  marvellous  face,  that  could  look 
steadily  at  the  sun  without  winking,  and  deluge 
itself  with  laughter  all  the  while,  for  there  was 
nothing  hidden  or  corrupting  in  it. 

Presently  I  returned  into  the  sacred  grove, 
touching  the  three  letters  he  had  carved  there, 
and  calling  on  his  spirit  to  regard  me  as  respect- 
ing his  dumb  idols,  which  were  nothing  but  the 
representatives  of  his  jealous  gods,  — dear  to  him 
as  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  and  the  shining  summits  of  Calvary  to  us. 
Then  down  I  ran  to  the  bathing-pools,  and  from 
place  to  place  I  wandered  in  a  hurried  and  ner- 
vous tour,  for  it  was  growing  dark.  I  saw  the 
ship's  lights  nickering  over  the  water,  while  the 
first  cool  whispers  of  the  night-wind  came  down 
from  the  hills,  filling  me  with  warnings ;  in  the 
midst  of  which  there  was  a  flash  of  flame  and  a 
sudden,  thunderous  report, — enough  to  awaken 


CHUMMING    WITH  A   SAVAGE.  77 

the  dead  of  the  valley,  —  and  I  turned  to  go.  I 
believe,  if  dear  Kana-ana,  had  been  there,  as  I 
prayed  he  might  be,  I  would  have  laughed  at  that 
signal,  and  hastened  inland  to  avoid  discoveiy ; 
for  I  was  sick  of  the  world.  I  might  have  had 
reason  to  regret  it  afterward,  because  friendship  is 
not  elastic,  and  the  best  of  friends  cannot  long 
submit  to  being  bored  by  the  best  of  fellows.  Per- 
haps it  was  just  as  it  should  be  :  I  had  no  time 
to  consider  the  matter  there.  I  hurried  to  his 
mother,  and  she  clung  to  me ;  others  came  about 
me,  and  laid  hold  of  me  :  so  that  I  feared  I  should 
be  held  captive  until  it  was  too  late  to  board  the 
vessel.  Her  sails  were  even  then  shaking  in  the 
wind ;  and  I  heard  the  faint  click  of  the  capstan 
tugging  at  the  anchor-chains. 

With  a  quick  impulse  I  broke  away  from  them, 
and  ran  to  the  beach,  where  Niga  and  I  entered 
his  canoe,  and  slid  off  from  the  sloping  sands. 
Down  we  drifted  toward  the  open  sea,  while  the 
natives  renewed  their  wailing,  and  I  was  half 
crazed  with  sorrow.  It  is  impossible  to  resist  the 
persuasive  eloquence  of  their  chants.  Think,  then, 
with  what  a  troubled  spirit  I  heard  them,  as  we 
floated  on  between  the  calm  stars  in  the  heavens 
and  the  whirling  stars  in  the  sea. 

We  went  out  to  the  ship's  side,  and  little  Niga 
was  as  noisy  as  any  of  them  when  I  pressed  upon 
him  a  practical  memorial  of  my  visit ;  and  away 
he  drifted  into  the  night,  with  his  boyish  bab- 


78  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

ble  pitched  high  and  shrill ;  and  the  Present 
speedily  became  the  Past,  and  grew  old  in  a 
moment. 

Then  I  looked  for  the  last  time  upon  that  faint 
and  cloudy  picture,  and  seemed  almost  to  see  the 
spirit  of  the  departed  beckoning  to  me  with  wav- 
ing arms  and  imploring  looks  ;  and  I  longed  for 
him  with  the  old  longing,  that  will  never  release 
me  from  my  willing  bondage.  I  blessed  him  in 
his  new  life,  and  I  rejoiced  with  exceeding  great 
joy  that  he  was  freed  at  last  from  the  tyranny  of 
life,  —  released  from  the  unsolvable  riddles  of  the 
ages.  The  night-wind  was  laden  with  music,  and 
sweet  with  the  odors  of  ginger  and  cassia  ;  the 
spume  of  the  reef  was  pale  as  the  milk  of  the 
cocoanuts,  and  the  blazing  embers  on  shore  glowed 
like  old  sacrificial  fires. 

Then  I  heard  a  voice  crying  out  of  the  shadow, 
—  an  ancient  and  eloquent  voice,  —  saying  :  "  Be- 
hold my  fated  race !  Our  days  are  numbered. 
Long  have  we  feasted  in  the  rich  presence  of  a 
revealed  deity.  We  sat  in  ashes  under  the  mute 
gods  of  Baal  \  we  fled  before  the  wrath  of  Mo- 
loch, the  destroyer ;  we  were  as  mighty  as  the 
four  winds  of  heaven  :  but  the  profane  hand  of 
the  Iconoclast  has  desecrated  our  temples,  and 
humbled  our  majesty  in  the  dust.  0  impious 
breakers  of  idols  !  Why  will  ye  put  your  new 
wines  into  these  old  bottles,  that  were  shaped  for 
spring  waters  only,  and  not  for  wine  at  all  !  Lo  ! 


CHUMMING    WITH  A  SAVAGE.  79 

ye  have  broken  them,  and  the  wine  is  wasted.    Be 
satisfied,  and  depart  !  " 

So  that  spirit  of  air  sang  the  death-song  of  his 
tribe,  and  the  sad  music  of  his  voice  rang  over  the 
waters  like  a  lullaby. 

Then  1  heard  no  more,  and  I  said,  "  M.y  asylum 
is  the  great  world ;  my  refuge  is  in  oblivion "  ;% 
and  I  turned  my  face  seaward,  never  again  to 
dream  fondly  of  my  island  home  ;  never  again  to 
know  it  as  I  have  known  it ;  never  again  to  look 
upon  its  serene  and  melancholy  beauty  :  for  the 
soul  of  the  beloved  is  transmitted  to  the  vales  of 
rest,  and  his  ashes  are  sown  in  the  watery  furrows 
of  the  deep  sea  ! 


TABOO.  — A   FETE-DAY   IN   TAHITI. 

HT  was  on  one  of  those  vagabond  pilgrim- 
ages to  nowhere  in  particular,  such  as 
every  stranger  is  bound  to  make  in  a 
strange  land,  that  I  first  stumbled  upon  my  royal 
Jester,  better  known  in  Tahiti  as  Taboo. 

Great  Jove  !  what  a  night  it  was  !  A  wild  ravine 
full  of  banyan  and  pandanus  trees,  and  of  parasite 
climbers,  and  the  thousand  nameless  leafing  and 
blossoming  creatures  that  intermarry  to  such  an 
alarming  extent  in  the  free-loving  tropics,  had 
tempted  me  to  pasture  there  for  a  little  while.  I 
was  wandering  on  among  roots  and  trailing 
branches,  and  under  ropes  upon  ropes  of  flowers 
that  seemed  to  swing  suddenly  across  my  path  on 
purpose  to  keep  me  from  finding  too  easily  the 
secret  heart  of  the  mountain.  I  felt  it  was  right 
that  I  should  be  made  to  realize  how  sacred  a  spot 
that  sanctuary  of  Nature  was,  but  I  fretted  some- 
what at  the  persistency  of  those  speechless  senti- 
nels who  guarded  its  outer  door  so  faithfully. 
There  was  a  waterfall  within,  that  I  had  prayed 
to  see, — one  of  those  mysterious  waterfalls  that 
descend  noiselessly  from  the  bosom  of  a  cloud, 


TABOO.  — A  FETE-DAY  TN   TAHITI.          81 

stealing  over  cushions  of  moss,  like  a  ray  of  light 
in  a  dream,  or  something  else  equally  intangible. 

You  never  find  this  sort  of  waterfall  in  the 
common  way.  No  one  can  exactly  point  it  out  to 
you  ;  but  you  must  search  for  it  yourself,  and 
listen  for  its  voice,  —  and  usually  listen  in  vain, 
—  till,  suddenly,  you  come  upon  it  in  a  moment, 
almost  as  if  by  accident ;  and  its  whole  quivering 
length  glitters  and  glistens  with  jewels;  where  it 
hangs,  like  a  necklace,  on  the  bosom  of  a  great  cliff. 
It  is  the  only  visible  chain  that  binds  earth  to 
heaven  ;  and  no  wonder  you  gaze  at  it  with  ques- 
tioning eyes  ! 

Well,  while  I  was  looking  about  me,  expecting 
every  moment  to  feel  the  damp  breath  of  the 
waterfall  upon  my  forehead,  night  came  down. 
Where  was  1 1  In  the  midst  of  a  pathless  forest ; 
between  cliffs  whose  sleek,  mossy  walls  were  so 
stoep  as  to  forbid  even  the  goat's  sharp  hoof. 
Down  the  hollow  of  the  ravine,  among  round, 
slippery  rocks,  and  between  trellises  of  giant  roots, 
tumbled  a  mountain  torrent.  No  human  form 
visible,  probably  none  to  be  looked  for  on  that  side 
of  the  inaccessible  dome  of  the  mountain ;  yet 
fearlessly  I  toiled  on,  knowing  that  food  and  shel- 
ter were  on  every  side,  and  that  no  hand,  whose 
clasp  was  as  fervent  as  the  clasp  of  the  vine  itself, 
would  be  raised  against  me ;  and,  thank  Heaven  ! 
outsiders  were  scarce. 

In  the  midst  of  the  narrowing  chasm,  with  the 


82  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

night  thickening,  and  the  wood  growing  more  and 
more  objectionable,  I  heard  a  sound  as  of  stum- 
bling feet  before  me.  My  first  thought  was  of 
color  !  I  would  scarcely  trust  a  White  Man  in 
that  predicament.  What  well-disposed  White 
would  be  prowling,  like  a  wild  animal,  alone  in  a 
forest  at  night1?  It  occurred  to  me  that  I  was 
white,  or  had  passed  as  such  ;  but  I  know  and 
have  always  known  that,  inwardly,  I  am  purple- 
blooded,  and  supple-limbed,  and  invisibly  tattooed 
after  the  manner  of  my  lost  tribe  !  I  was  startled 
at  the  sound,  and  slackened  my  pace  to  listen  : 
the  footsteps  paused  with  mine.  I  plunged  for- 
ward, accusing  the  Echoes  of  playing  me  false. 
Again  the  mysterious  one  rushed  awkwardly  on 
before  me,  with  footfalls  that  were  not  like  mine, 
nor  like  any  that  I  could  trace  :  they  were  neither 
brute  nor  human,  but  fell  clumsily  among  the 
roots  and  stones,  oat  of  time  with  me  ;  therefore, 
no  echo,  and  beyond  my  reckoning  entirely. 

At  this  hour  the  moon,  of  a  favorable  size, 
looked  over  the  cliff,  flooding  the  chasm  with  her 
soft  light.  I  rejoiced  at  it,  and  hoped  for  a  reve- 
lation of  the  Unknown,  whose  tottering  steps  had 
mocked  mine  for  half  an  hour. 

We  were  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  grove  of  bread- 
fruit-trees. Scarcely  a  ray  of  light  penetrated 
their  thick-woven  branches ;  but,  against  the  faint 
light  of  the  open  distance,  I  marked  the  weird 
outline  of  one  who  might  once  have  been  human, 


TABOO.  — A  FETE-DAY  IN   TAHITI.          83 

but  was  no  longer  a  tolerable  image  of  his  Maker. 
The  figure  was  like  the  opposite  halves  of  two 
men  bodily  joined  together  in  an  amateur  attempt 
at  human  grafting.  The  trunk  was  curved  the 
wrong  way ;  a  great  shoulder  bullied  a  little 
shoulder,  and  kept  it  decidedly  under;  a  long  leg 
walked  right  around  a  short  leg  that  was  perpetu- 
ally sitting  itself  down  on  invisible  seats,  or  swing- 
ing itself  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  it.  One  arm 
clutched  a  ten-foot  bamboo  about  three  inches  in 
diameter,  and  wielded  it  as  though  it  were  a  bish- 
op's crook,  and  something  to  be  proud  of;  the 
other  arm  —  it  must  have  belonged  to  a  child 
when  it  stopped  growing  —  was  hooked  up  over 
one  ear,  looking  as  though  it  had  been  badly  wired 
by  some  medical  student,  and  was  worn  as  a  last- 
ing reproach  to  him.  A  shaggy  head  was  set  on 
the  down-slope  of  the  big  shoulder,  and  seemed  to 
be  continually  looking  over  the  little  shoulder  and 
under  the  little  arm  for  some  one  always  expected, 
but  who  was  very  long  in  coming. 

Upon  this  startling  discovery  I  turned  to  flee, 
but  the  figure  immediately  followed.  It  was  evi- 
dently too  late  to  escape  an  interview7,  and,  taking- 
heart,  I  walked  toward  it,  when,  to  my  amaze- 
ment, it  hastily  staggered  away  from  me,  looking 
always  over  its  shoulder,  quickening  its  pace  with 
mine,  slackening  its  speed  with  me,  and  keeping, 
or  seeking  to  keep,  within  a  certain  distance  of 
me  all  the  while.  My  curiosity  was  excited,  and, 


84  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

as  I  saw  it  bore  me  no  ill-will,  I  made  a  quick 
plunge  forward,  hoping  to  capture  it.  With  an 
energetic  effort  it  strove  to  escape  me ;  but,  with 
the  head  turned  the  wrong  way,  it  stumbled 
blindly  into  a  bit  of  jungle,  where  it  lay  whining 
piteously.  I  assisted  it  to  its  feet,  with  what 
caution  and  tenderness  I  could,  and,  finding  it 
still  wary,  walked  on  slowly,  leading  the  way  to 
the  edge  of  the  grove,  where  the  moonlight  was 
almost  as  radiant  as  the  dawn.  It  followed  me 
like  a  dog,  and  was  evidently  grateful  for  my 
company.  I  walked  slowly  that  it  might  not 
stumble,  and,  as  we  emerged  from  the  shadow  of 
the  breadfruits,  I  maneuvered  so  as  to  bring  its 
face  toward  the  moonlight,  and  I  saw  —  a  hideous 
visage,  with  all  its  features  sliding  to  one  corner ; 
and  nothing  but  the  two  soft,  sleepy-looking  eyes 
saved  me  from  yielding  to  the  disgust  that  its 
whole  presence  awakened.  As  it  was,  I  involun- 
tarily started  back  with  a  shudder,  and  a  slight 
exclamation  that  attracted  its  attention.  "  Taboo  ! 
Taboo  ! "  moaned  the  poor  creature,  half  in  intro- 
duction, half  in  apology  and  explanation. 

He  was  well  named  the  "  forbidden  one ":  set 
apart  from  all  his  fellows  ;  incapable  of  utterance  ; 
maimed  in  body;  an  outcast  among  his  own 
people  ;  homeless,  yet  at  home  everywhere  ;  friend- 
less, though  welcomed  by  all  for  his  entertaining 
and  ludicrous  simplicity  ;  feeding,  like  the  birds, 
from  Nature's  lap,  and,  like  the  birds,  left  to  the 
winds  and  waters  for  companionship. 


TABOO.  —  A   FETE-DAY  IN  TAHITI.          85 

Somehow  I  felt  that  Taboo  could  lead  me  at 
once  to  the  waterfall  ;  and  I  tried  to  seek  out  the 
small  door  to  his  brain,  and  impress  him  with  my 
anxiety  to  reach  the  place.  0,  what  darkness 
was  there,  and  what  doubts  and  fears  seemed  to 
cloud  the  hidden  portals  of  his  sovil !  He  made 
an  uncouth  noise  for  me.  Perhaps  he  meant  it  as 
music  :  it  was  frightful  to  hear  it  up  there  in  the 
mountain  solitudes.  He  got  me  fruits  and  a  little 
water  in  the  palm  of  his  hand,  which  he  expected 
me  to  drink  with  a  relish.  He  lay  down  at  my 
feet  in  a  broken  heap  of  limbs,  crooning  compla- 
cently. He  was  playful  and  thoughtful  alter- 
nately ;  at  least,  he  lost  himself  in  long  silences 
from  time  to  time,  while  his  eyes  glowed  with  a 
deep  inward  light,  that  almost  made  me  hope  to 
startle  his  reason  from  its  dreadful  sleep  ;  but  a 
single  word  broke  the  spell,  and  set  him  to  laugh- 
ing as  though  he  would  go  all  to  pieces ;  and  his 
joy  was  more  pitiful  than  his  sorrow. 

In  one  of  his  silent  moods  he  suddenly  stag- 
gered to  his  feet,  and  shambled  into  a  narrow  trail 
to  one  side  of  the  gorge.  I  wondered  at  his  un- 
expected impulse,  and  feared  that  he  had  grown 
tired  of  me  already,  preferring  the  society  of  his 
feathered  comrades,  a  few  of  whom  sounded  their 
challenge-note,  that  soared  like  silver  arrows  in 
the  profound  stillness  of  the  ravine.  It  seemed 
not,  however  :  in  a  few  moments  he  returned,  and 
signalled  me  with  his  expressive  grunt,  and  I  fol- 


86  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

lowed  him.  Through  thickets  of  fern,  arching 
high  over  our  heads,  down  spongy  dells,  and  over 
rims  of  rock  jutting  from  the  base  of  the  mount- 
ain, Taboo  and  I  clambered  in  the  warm  moon- 
light. Anon  we  came  upon  a  barricade  of  bam- 
boos, growing  like  pickets  set  one  against  another. 
I  know  not  how  broad  the  thicket  might  have 
been,  —  possibly  as  broad  as  the  ravine  itself,  — 
but  into  the  thick  of  it  Taboo  edged  himself;  ami 
close  upon  his  heels  1  followed.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments we  had  crushed  our  way  through  the  midst 
of  the  bamboos,  that  clashed  together  after  us  so 
that  a  bird  might  not  have  tracked  us,  and  lo  !  a 
crystal  pool  in  the  heart  of  a  wonderful  garden  ; 
and  to  it,  silently,  from  heaven  itself  descended 
that  mysterious  waterfall,  whose  actual  existence 
I  had  seriously  begun  to  question.  It  lay  close 
against  the  breast  of  the  mountain,  strangely  pale 
in  the  full  glow  of  the  moon,  while,  like  a  vein  of 
fire,  it  seemed  to  throb  from  end  to  end  ;  or  like 
a  shining  thread  with  great  pearls  slipping  slowly 
down  its  full  length,  taking  the  faint  hues  of  the 
rainbow  as  they  fell,  playing  at  prisms,  until  my 
eyes,  weary  of  watching,  closed  of  their  own  ac- 
cord. I  sank  down  by  Taboo,  who  was  sleeping 
soundly  in  the  hollow  of  a  great  tree  ;  and  the 
one  cover  for  both  of  us  was  the  impenetrable 
shadow  that  is  never  lifted  from  that  silent  sanc- 
tuary of  the  Most  High. 

The  sky  was  as  saffron  when  we  woke  from  our 


TABOO.  — A  FETE-DAY  IN   TAHITI.          87 

out-of-door  sleep,  and  the  whole  atmosphere  was 
less  poetical  and  impressive  than  on  the  night 
previous.  Stranger  than  all  else,  there  was  no 
visible  trace  of  the  mysterious  waterfall.  I  even 
began  to  question  my  own  senses,  and  thought  it 
possible  that  I  had  been  dreaming.  Yet  there  sat 
Taboo  in  his  frightful  imperfection,  as  happy  and 
indifferent  as  possible.  Of  course,  he  could  tell 
me  nothing  of  the  magical  waters.  He  had  doubt- 
less already  forgotten  the  episode  of  the  hour  pre- 
vious. He  lived  for  the  solitary  moment,  and  his 
mind  seemed  unable  to  grasp  the  secrets  of  ten 
seconds  on  either  side  of  his  narrow  present.  In 
fact,  he  was  playing  with  a  splendid  lizard  when  I 
returned  from  my  brief  and  fruitless  reconnois- 
sance ;  and  as  I  came  up  he  wondered  at  me,  as  lie 
never  ceased  to  wonder,  with  fresh  bewilderment, 
whenever  I  came  back  to  him,  after  never  so  brief 
an  absence. 

I  soon  learned  to  play  upon  Taboo's  one  stop ; 
to  point  a  finger  at  him,  and  bore  imaginary  auger- 
holes  right  into  him  anywhere  ;  for  he  always 
winced  and  whined,  like  a  very  baby,  and  yielded 
at  once  to  my  pantomimic  suggestion.  But  what 
a  wreck  was  here  !  A  delicate  instrument,  full  of 
rifts  and  breakages,  with  that  single  key  readily 
answerable  to  the  slightest  touch  of  my  will.  I 
have  often  wished  that  it  had  been  a  note  more 
deep,  profound,  or  sympathetic.  It  was  simply 
merry  and  shrill,  and  incapable  of  any  modulation 


88  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

whatever.  Point  a  finger  at  him,  make  a  few 
coils  in  the  air  that  grow  to  a  focus  as  they  draw 
nearer  to  him,  and  he  would  run  over  with  un- 
controllable jollity  that  was  at  times  a  little  pain- 
ful in  its  boisterousness. 

I  knew  well  enough  that  I  had  sucked  the 
honey  from  that  particular  cell  in  the  mountain, 
and  that  I  might  as  well  resume  my  pilgrimage. 
There  was  to  be  a  Fete  Napoleon  in  Papeete.  We 
had  n't  heard,  up  to  that  hour,  of  the  wreck  of 
the  great  Empire,  and,  being  in  a  loyal  French 
colony,  it  behooved  us  to  have  the  very  best  time 
possible.  Said  I  to  myself,  "  Taboo  will  find  suffi- 
cient food  for  merriment  in  our  mode  of  feting  an 
Emperor ;  therefore  Taboo  shall  go  with  me  to  town 
and  enjoy  himself."  I  suggested  an  immediate  ad- 
journment to  Papeete  with  the  tip  of  my  fore- 
finger, whereat  Taboo  doubled  up,  as  usual,  and, 
in  his  own  fashion,  implored  me  to  stop  being  so 
funny.  We  at  once  started  ;  returning  through 
the  bamboo-brakes,  fording  the  stream  in  some 
awkward  way,  and  slowly  working  our  passage 
back  to  town. 

The  Tahitians  have  but  one  annual  holiday. 
As  this,  however,  is  seventy-two  hours  in  length, 
while  everything  relating  to  it  is  broad  in  propor- 
tion, it  -is  about  as  much  as  they  can  conscien- 
tiously ask  for. 

Taboo  and  I  entered  the  town  on  the  eve  of  the 
first  day,  together  with  multitudes  from  the 


89 

neighboring  districts,  flocking  thither  in  their  best 
clothes.  The  lovely  bay  of  Papeete  was  covered 
with  fleets  of  canoes,  hailing  from  all  the  seaside 
villages  on  the  island,  and  many  of  them  from 
Moorea,  and  islands  even  more  distant.  No  sea  is 
too  broad  to  be  compassed  by  an  ambitious  Ka- 
nack,  who  scents  a  festival  from  afar. 

Along  the  crescent  shores  of  the  bay,  the  canoes 
were  heaped,  tier  upon  tier.  It  was  as  though  a 
whole  South  Sea  navy  had  been  stranded,  for  the 
town  was  crowded  with  canoe-boys  and  all  manner 
of  natives,  in  gala  dress.  The  incessant  rolling  of 
drums,  the  piping  of  bamboo-flutes,  and  the  cho- 
ruses of  wandering  singers  began  early  in  the  dawn 
of  the  14th  August,  and  were  expected  to  con- 
tinue, uninterruptedly,  to  the  evening  of  the  16th. 
Taboo  regarded  it  all  with  singular  indifference. 
Everybody  seemed  to  know  him,  and  to  take  par- 
ticular delight  in  greeting  him.  His  sleepy  dis- 
regard of  them  was  considered  extremely  laugha- 
ble, and  they  went  their  way  roaring  with  merri- 
ment, that  contrasted  strongly  with  the  grave, 
listless  face  of  the  simple  one,  who  was  apparently 
oblivious  of  everything. 

The  morning  after  we  appeared  in  Papeete  was 
Sunday,  according  to  the  calendar.  The  little 
cathedral,  with  banana-leaves  rustling  in  the 
open  windows,  was  thronged  with  worshippers  of 
all  colors,  doubly  devout  in  the  excessive  heat. 
Various  choirs  relieved  one  another  during  Mass, 


90  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

and  some  diminutive  fellows,  under  ten  years  of 
age,  chanted  Latin  hymns  in  a  pleasingly  plaintive 
voice,  led  by  a  friar  in  long  clothes  and  a  choker. 
Taboo  crouched  by  the  open  door  during  service, 
raking  the  gravel-walk  with  his  crooked  fingers, 
and  .  hitching  about  with  indefatigable  industry. 
After  the  last  gospel,  we  all  went  into  the  middle 
of  the  street  —  for  there  were  no  sidewalks  —  and 
got  our  boots  very  dusty.  Little  knots  of  friends 
seemed  to  sit  down  in  the  way  wherever  they 
pleased,  and  to  talk  as  long  as  they  liked ;  while 
everybody  else  accommodatingly  turned  out  for 
them,  or  paused,  and  listened  to  the  conversation, 
without  embarrassment  on  either  side.  Liquor 
was  imbibed  on  the  sly ;  some  eyes  were  begin- 
ning to  swim  perceptibly,  and  some  tongues  to 
wag  faster  and  looser  than  ever.  The  Admiral's 
flagship  was  one  pyramid  of  gorgeous  bunting, 
and  his  band  delighted  a  great  audience,  gathered 
upon  the  shore,  with  a  matinee  gratis.  At  sunset 
the  imperial  batteries  belched  their  sulphurous 
thunder,  that  came  as  near  to  breaking  the  sab- 
bath as  possible.  In  the  evening  more  music,  up 
at  the  Governor's  garden,  —  waltzes,  polkas,  and 
quadrilles,  so  brilliantly  executed  that  the  listeners 
were  half  mad  with  delight ;  and  you  could  n't  for 
the  life  of  you  tell  what  day  it  had  been,  nor 
wrhat  night  it  was,  but  Sunday  was  positively  set 
down  against  it  in  the  calendar.  At  ten  P.  M.  a 
signal-gun  says  "  Good-night "  to  the  citizens  of 


TABOO.  —  A  FETE-DAY  JN  TAHITI.          91 

Papeete,  and  it  behooves  all  those  who  are  dark- 
skinned  to  retire  instantly,  on  pain  of  arrest  and  a 
straw-heap  in  the  calaboose. 

In  the  midst  of  our  Sunday  festival,  while  yet 
the  streets  were  hilarious,  slap-bang  went  this  im- 
pudent piece  of  ordnance,  and  at  once  the  crowd 
began  to  disperse  in  the  greatest  confusion.  .  Ta- 
boo, who  had  been  an  inanimate  spectator  during 
the  day's  diversions,  seemed  to  comprehend  the 
necessity  of  hasty  flight  to  some  quarter  or  other ; 
and,  with  a  confusion  of  ideas  peculiar  to  him,  he 
began  careering  in  great  circles  through  the  sway- 
ing multitudes,  and  continued  to  revolve  around 
an  uncertain  centre,  until  I  seized  him  and  sought 
to  pilot  him  to  some  convenient  place  of  shelter. 
I  thought  of  the  great  market,  that,  like  those 
ancient  cities  of  refuge,  was  always  open  to  the 
benighted  wanderer ;  and  thither  we  hastened. 
A  lofty  roof,  covering  a  good  part  of  a  block,  kept 
the  rain  from  a  vast  enclosure,  stored  with  stalls, 
tables,  and  benches.  It  was  simply  shelter  of  the 
barest  kind,  but  sufficient  for  all  needs  in  that 
charitable  climate.  There  was  a  buzzing  of  tur- 
bulent throngs  as  we  edged  our  way  toward  the 
centre  of  the  market-place  ;  you  would  think  that 
all  the  bees  of  Tahiti  were  swarming  in  unison, 
from  the  noise  thereof.  The  commotion  was  long 
in  quieting.  It  had  to  subside  like  the  sea  at 
flood-tide.  Every  little  while  a  brace  of  gendarmes 
strutted  past  the  premises,  feeling  mighty  fine  in 


92  SOU  TIT-SEA   IDYLS. 

their  broad  white  pants,  like  a  ship  with  studding- 
sails  out,  and  with  those  comical  bobtails  sprout- 
ing out  of  the  small  of  their  backs.  I  know  that 
Taboo  and  I,  having  laid  ourselves  on  somebody's 
counter,  listened  and  nudged  each  other  for  two 
or  three  hours,  and  that  it'  began  to  feel  like 
morning  before  there  was  sleep  enough  to  go  en- 
tirely around  the  establishment. 

The  man  who  is  the  first  to  wake  in  Papeete 
lights  his  lamp  and  goes  to  market.  As  soon  as 
he  makes  his  untimely  appearance,  the  commu- 
nity begins  to  stir ;  a  great  clatter  of  drowsy 
voices  and  dozens  of  yawns  are  the  symptoms  of 
returning  day  ;  and  in  ten  minutes  the  market 
is  declared  open,  though  it  is  still  deep  and  tran- 
quil starlight  overhead,  with  not  a  trace  of  dawn 
as  yet  visible. 

When  the  market  opens  before  3  A.  M.  —  and 
the  hour  happens  to  be  the  blackest  of  the  four- 
aiid-twenty —  it  is  highly  inconvenient  for  any 
foreigner  and  his  royal  jester  who  may  be  surrep- 
titiously passing  the  night  upon  one  of  the  fruit 
counters,  but  there  is  no  help  for  them  :  sleepy 
heads  give  way  to  fresh-gathered  bread-fruits  and 
nets  of  fragrant  oranges ;  bananas  are  swung  up 
within  tempting  reach  of  everybody ;  all  sorts  of 
natives  come  in  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
Papeetean  globe,  with  back-loads  of  miscellaneous 
viands,  a  mat  under  one  arm,  and  a  flaming  torch 
in  hand.  Rows  upon  rows  of  girls  sell  fruits  and 


TABOO— A   FETE-DAY  TN   TAHITI.          93 

flowers  to  the  highest  bidder ;  withering  old  women 
haggle  over  the  prices  of  their  perfumed  and  juicy 
wares ;  solitary  men  offer  their  solitary  strings  of 
fish  for  a  real  each,  and  refuse  to  be  beaten  down 
by  any  wretch  of  a  fellow  who  dares  to  insinuate 
that  the  fish  are  a  trifle  too  scaly  ;  boys  sit  de- 
murely over  their  meagre  array  of  temptations  in 
the  shape  of  six  tomatoes,  three  eggs,  a  dozen  or 
so  of  guavas,  and  one  cucumber.  These  young- 
sters usually  sit  with  a  passionless  countenance 
that  forbids  any  hope  of  a  bargain  at  reduced 
prices,  and  they  pass  an  hour  or  two  with  scarce 
a  suggestion  of  custom  ;  but  it  is  suddenly  discov- 
ered that  they  have  something  desirable,  and  a 
dozen  purchasers  begin  quarrelling  for  it,  during 
which  time  some  one  else  quietly  makes  his  pur- 
chase from  one  corner  of  the  boy's  mat  ;  and,  hav- 
ing closed  out  his  stock  in  less  than  ten  minutes, 
he  quietly  pockets  his  reales,  and  departs  without 
having  uttered  a  syllable. 

Taboo  and  I  went  from  one  mat  to  another, 
eying  the  good  things  for  breakfast.  I  oifered  him 
the  best  that  the  market  afforded  ;  and  I  could 
easily  do  so,  for  in  no  land  is  the  article  cheaper 
or  better.  Taboo,  having  made  the  circuit  of  the 
entire  establishment,  upon  mature  deliberation 
concluded  to  take  nothing.  At  every  point  he 
was  greeted  uproariously  by  the  noisy  and  good- 
natured  people,  who  were  willing  to  give  him  any- 
thing he  might  choose  to  take.  They,  probably, 


94  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

felt  that  it  was  worth  more  than  the  price  of  the 
article  to  see  the  sublime  scorn  on  the  poor  fel- 
low's face  as  he  declined  their  limes,  feis,  mangoes, 
or  whatever  delicious  morsel  it  might  have  been. 
As  for  me,  I  could  n't  resist  those  seductions.  I 
made  my  little  purchases  and  withdrew  to  the  sea- 
side, where  I  could  break  my  fast  by  sunrise,  and 
enjoy  comparative  quiet.  Taboo  grinned  in  the 
market-place  till  he  was  weary  of  the  applause 
showered  upon  him  by  the  ungodly,  who  made 
light  of  his  irreparable  misfortune  and  took  pleas- 
ure in  his  misery.  He  hunted  me  up,  or,  rather, 
stumbled  upon  me  again,  and  stayed  by  me,  amus- 
ing himself  with  pelting  the  fish  that  sported, 
like  sunbeams  and  prisms,  in  the  sea  close  at  our 
feet. 

It  was  fete-dsij  in  Tahiti.  I  sat,  at  sunrise,  by 
the  tideless  margin  of  a  South  Sea  lagoon,  bristling 
with  coral  and  glittering  with  gem-like  fish ;  in 
either  hand  I  held  a  mango  and  banana.  I  raised 
the  mango  to  my  lips.  What  a  marvel  it  was  ! 
A  plump  vegetable  egg,  full  of  delusion,  and 
stuffed  with  a  horny  seed  nearly  as  large  as  itself. 
It  had  a  fragrance  as  of  oils  and  sirups ;  it  purged 
sweet-scented  and  resinous  gums.  Its  hide  was, 
perhaps,  too  tough  for  convenience,  but  its  inner 
lusciousness  tempted  me  to  persevere  in  the  con- 
sumption of  it.  With  much  difficulty  I  broke  the 
skin.  Honey  of  Hymettus  !  It  seemed  as  though 
the  very  marrow  of  the  tropics  were  about  to  in- 


TABOO.  — A   FETE-DAY  IN    TAHITI.          95 

toxicate  my  palate.  Alas,  for  the  hopes  of  youth- 
ful inexperience  !  What  was  so  fair  to  see  proved 
but  a  meagre  mouthful  of  saturated  wool ;  that 
colossal  and  horny  seed  asserted  itself  everywhere. 
The  more  I  strove  to  handle  it  with  caution,  the 
more  slippery  and  unmanageable  it  became.  It- 
shot  into  my  beard,  it  leaped  lightly  into  my 
shirt-bosom,  and  skated  over  the  palms  of  both 
hands.  Small  rivulets  of  liquor  trickled  down  my 
sleeves,  making  disagreeable  puddles  at  both  elbows. 
My  fingers  were  webbed  together  in  a  glutinous 
mass.  My  whole  front  was  in  a  shocking  state  of 
smear.  My  teeth  grew  weary  of  combing  out  the 
beguiling  threads  of  the  fruit.  The  thing  seemed, 
to  my  imagination,  a  small,  flat  head,  covered  with 
short,  blond  hair,  profusely  saturated  with  some 
sweet  sort  of  ointment,  that  I  had  despaired  of 
feasting  on  ;  and  I  was  not  sorry  when  the  slip- 
pery stone  sprang  out  of  my  grasp,  and  peppered 
itself  with  sea-sand. 

I  knew  that  there  still  remained  to  me  a  mor- 
sel that  was  of  itself  n't  food  for  the  gods.  I 
poised  aloft,  with  satisfaction,  the  rare-ripe  bana- 
na, beautiful  to  the  eye  as  a  nugget  of  purest 
gold.  The  pliant  petals  were  pouting  at  the  top 
of  the  fruit.  I  readily  turned  them  back,  forming 
an  unique  and  convenient  gilded  salver  for  the 
column  of  flaky  manna  that  was,  as  yet,  swathed 
in  lace  like  folds.  These  gauzy  ribbons  fell  from 
it  almost  of  their  own  accord,  and  hung  in  fleecy 
festoons  about  it. 


96  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

Here  was  a  repast  of  singularly  appropriate 
mould,  being  about  the  size  of  a  respectable  mouth, 
and  containing  just  enough  mouthfuls  to  tempo- 
rarily satisfy  the  appetite.  Not  a  morsel  of  it  but 
was  full  of  mellowness,  and  sweet  flavor,  and  fra- 
grance. Not  an  atom  of  it  was  wasted ;  for,  no 
sooner  had  I  thrown  aside  the  cool,  clean,  flesh- 
like  case,  than  it  was  made  way  with  by  a  fowl, 
that  had,  no  doubt,  been  patiently  awaiting  that 
abundant  feast. 

Mangoes  and  bananas  !  Their  very  names  smack 
of  shady  gardens,  that  know  no  harsher  premoni- 
tion of  death  than  the  indolent  and  natural  decay 
of  all  things.  The  nostril  is  excited  with  the 
thought  of  them ;  the  palate  grows  moist  and 
yearns  for  them ;  and  the  soul  feasts  itself,  for  a 
moment,  with  a  memory  of  mangoes  and  bananas 
past,  whose  perfection  was  but  another  proof  of 
immortality,  since  it  is  impossible  ever  to  forget 
them  individually.  Mangoes  and  bananas !  the 
prime  favorites  at  Nature's  most  bountiful  board ; 
the  realization  of  a  dream  of  the  orchards  of  the 
Hesperides  ;  alike  excellent,  yet  so  vastly  dissimi- 
lar in  their  excellences,  it  seems  almost  incredible 
that  the  same  beneficent  Providence  can  have  cre- 
ated the  two  fruits  ! 

It  was  the  memorable  15th  of  August,  1870; 
but  I  have  reason  to  believe  the  bananas  were  no 
better  on  that  particular  occasion  than  almost 
always  in  their  own  latitude.  The  15th  of  August, 


TABOO.  — A    FETE-DAY  IN   TAHITI.          97 

—  where  was  the  Emperor  then  1  I  forget ;  I  know 
that  we  rejoiced  in  the  blissful  confidence  that  we 
were  to  have  a  grand  time  at  all  hazards.  There 
were  guns  at  sunrise  from  ship  and  shore ;  a  grand 
national  procession  of  French  and  Tahitians  to 
High  Mass  at  10.30;  guns  —  twenty-one  of  them. 
— together  with  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  a  salute 
of  flags,  at  the  elevation  of  the  Host,  so  that  you 
would  have  known  the  supreme  moment  had  you 
been  miles  away.  Then  came  a  sumptuous  public 
breakfast  for  the  Frenchmen ;  and  for  the  natives, 
games  of  several  sorts. 

Taboo  and  I,  having  properly  observed  the  more 
solemn  ceremonials  of  the  day,  gave  ourselves  up 
to  the  full  enjoyment  of  these  latter  diversions. 
There  was  a  greased  pole,  with  shining  cups ;  and 
flowing  prints,  both  useful  and  ornamental,  hung 
at  the  top  of  it.  Several  naked  and  superbly  built 
fellows  shinned  up  it  with  infinite  difficulty,  and 
were  so  fatigued  when  they  got  there,  they  were 
only  too  willing  to  clutch  the  first  article  within 
reach,  which  was,  of  course,  the  least  desirable,  and 
scarcely  worth  the  trouble  of  getting.  0,  such 
magnificent  grouping  at  the  foot  of  the  pole,  as  the 
athletes  shouldered  one  another  in  a  sort  of  co- 
operative experiment  at  getting  up  sooner  ;  such 
struggles  to  rise  a  little  above  the  heads  of  the 
impatient  climbers  beneath  as  made  the  aspiring 
Kanack  quite  pale, —  that  is,  greenish  yellow  ;  such 
losing  of  grips,  and  fainting  of  hearts,  and  slidings 

5  G 


98  SOUTH-SEA    IDYLS. 

back  to  earth  in  the  midst  of  taunts  and  jeers,  but 
all  in  the  best  of  humors  and  the  hottest  of  suns ! 
such  novelties  as  these  were  a  very  great  delight 
to  Taboo  and  myself.  He,  however,  did  n't  deign 
to  laugh  heartily  :  he  merely  smiled  in  a  superior 
manner  that  seemed  to  imply  that  he  knew  of 
something  that  was  twice  as  much  fun  and  not 
half  the  trouble,  but  he  did  n't  choose  to  disclose 
it.  He  nearly  always  seemed  to  know  as  much  as 
any  ten  of  us ;  and  it  was  like  an  assumption  of 
innocence,  that  queer,  vacant  expression  of  his 
face.  I  'm  not  sure  that  he  was  not  possessed  of 
some  rare  instinct  beyond  our  comprehension, 
which  was  to  him  an  abundant  compensation  for 
the  fragmentary  body  he  was  obliged  to  trundle 
about. 

Early  in  the  afternoon,  there  were  fresh  arrivals 
in  the  bay :  two  mammoth  double  war-canoes,  of 
fifty  paddles  each,  came  in  from  a  remote  sea-dis- 
trict ;  they  were  the  very  sort  of  water-monsters 
that  went  out  to  greet  my  illustrious  predecessor, 
Captain  Cook,  nearly  a  century  ago.  Taboo  and 
I  were  only  too  glad  to  sit  meekly  among  the  ten 
thousand  spectators  that  blackened  the  great  sweep 
of  the  shore,  while  these  savages  matched  their 
prowess.  With  one  vigorous  plunge  of  the  pad- 
dles the  canoes  sprang  from  the  beach  into  the 
watery  arena.  How  strange  they  looked  !  Long, 
low  sides,  scarce  eight  inches  above  water,  and 
stained  like  fish-scales ;  big,  yawning  jaws  in  their 


TABOO.  — A  FE TE-DA Y  IN   TAH1 TI.         99 

snakelike  heads,  and  the  tail  of  a  dragon  in  their 
wakes;  every  man  of  the  hundred  stripped  to  the 
skin  and  bareheaded  ;  their  brawny  bodies  glisten- 
ing in  the  sun  as  though  they  had  been  oiled, 
while,  with  mechanical  accuracy,  the  crews  beat 
the  water  with  their  paddles,  and  chanted  their 
guttural  chants,  with  the  sea  flashing  and  foaming 
under  them.  The  race  was  a  tie  ;  perhaps  it  was 
fortunate  that  it  proved  so.  I  fear  if  one  crew 
had  beaten  the  other  crew  the  breadth  of  a  paddle, 
that  other  would  have  lain  to  and  eaten  that  one 
right  under  our  very  eyes.  They  had  their  songs 
of  triumph,  both  sounding  the  chorus,  during 
which  they  drummed  with  their  paddles  on  the 
sides  of  their  canoes,  till  the  frail  things  shivered 
and  groaned  in  genuine  misery.  Then  they  re- 
newed the  race,  because  they  could  n't  possibly  be 
still  for  a  moment  ;  and  they  looked  like  a  brace 
of  mastodon-centipedes  trying  to  get  out  of  the 
water,  with  death  hissing  in  their  throats. 

The  evening  of  the  great  day  was  drawing  to 
a  close.  Taboo  and  I  again  went  out  into  the 
narrow,  green  lanes  of  Papeete,  seeking  what  we 
might  devour  with  all  our  eyes  and  ears.  They 
were  very  charming,  those  long  arbors  of  densely 
leaved  trees,  with  little  tropical  vignettes  set  in 
the  farther  end  of  them.  It  was  almost  like  get- 
ting a  squint  through  the  wrong  end  of  a  tele- 
scope, pointed  toward  some  fairy-land  or  other. 
As  it  grew  dark,  a  thousand  ready  hands  began 


100  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

illuminating  the  avenues  that  lead  to  the  Govern- 
or's house.  Up  and  down  its  deep  veranda  swung 
ropes  of  lanterns  ;  and  as  the  guards  at  the  gar- 
den-gate presented  arms  at  the  approach  of  the 
Admiral,  or  some  distinguished  and  decorated 
foreigner,  the  strains  of  Strauss,  deliciously  played, 
filled  the  illuminated  grove  with  an  air  of  romance 
that  was  very  Oriental  in  its  mellowness,  and 
quickened  every  foot  that  was  so  happy  as  to  touch 
the  soil  of  Tahiti  in  so  fortunate  an  hour.  On 
every  part  of  the  public  lawns  the  revels  were  con- 
ducted after  the  native  fashion.  Bands  of  singers 
and  dancers  sang  and  danced  in  the  streets,  and 
were  frequently  rewarded  with  liberal  potations. 
Taboo  looked  on  as  amiably  as  usual,  and  for  some 
time  as  passively  also ;  but  there  was  something 
intoxicating  in  the  air,  and  it  began  to  have  a 
visible  effect  upon  him.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
strove  to  emulate  the  singers.  St.  Cecilia  !  what 
a  song  was  his  !  I  could  scarcely  endure  to  hear 
that  royal  Jester  striving  to  tune  his  inharmonious 
voice  to  the  glib,  though  monotonous  Tahitian 
madrigals.  I  walked  away  by  myself,  or  rather 
went  into  another  part  of  the  village,  and  sought 
a  change  of  scene  ;  for  there  was  no  seclusion  to 
be  hoped  for  on  a  fete-mglit. 

From  the  Governor's  halls  came  the  entrancing 
harmony  of  flutes  and  harps ;  from  every  lane  and 
alley  the  piping  of  nose-fifes  and  the  droning  of 
nasal  chorals ;  from  the  sea  rolled  in  the  deep, 


TABOO.  — A  FETE-DAY  IN   TAHITI.        101 

hoarse  booming  of  the  reef,  the  rhythmical  plash  of 
oars,  or  the  clear,  prolonged  cry  of  some  one  in  the 
watery  distance  hailing  some  one  close  at  hand. 
Even  so  savage  and  picturesque  a  spectacle  as  this 
grew  wearisome  after  a  time,  and  I  turned  my 
steps  toward  a  place  of  shelter,  and  suggested  to 
myself  sleep. 

In  one  lane  was  a  throng  of  natives,  wilder  in 
their  demonstrations  of  joy  than  all  the  others. 
My  curiosity  was  excited,  and  I  hastened  to  join 
them.  Having  with  some  difficulty  wedged  my 
way  into  the  front  row  of  spectators,  I  beheld  the 
subject  of  their  riotous  applause.  In  the  centre 
of  a  small  ring  was  an  ungainly  figure,  writhing 
in  grotesque  contortions ;  tom-toms  were  being 
beaten  with  diabolical  energy  and  wildness ;  flutes 
and  shrill  voices  were  chiming  in  rapid  and  be- 
wildering chromatics;  the  audience  —  the  half- 
crazed  and  utterly  inhuman  audience  —  gloated 
over  the  shocking  spectacle  with  devilish  delight. 
In  one  moment  I  comprehended  all :  Taboo,  over- 
come by  the  general  and  unusual  excitement,  had 
succumbed  to  its  depraving  influences ;  and,  un- 
able longer  to  control  himself,  he  was  broadly 
burlesquing,  in  his  helplessness,  one  of  the  national 
dances.  Music  had  at  last  reached  his  impene- 
trable soul,  awakened  his  long-slumbering  sympa- 
thies, and  found  him  her  willing  slave.  A  pity 
that  some  diviner  strain  had  not  first  led  him  cap- 
tive, that  he  might  have  been  spared  this  disgrace  ! 


102  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

I  saw  his  unhappy  body  ambling  to  the  shame 
of  all.  I  saw  those  pitiful,  unshapen  shoulders 
undulating  in  vain  attempts  at  passional  expres- 
sion ;  the  helpless  arm  waving  at  every  movement 
of  the  body,  while  the  withered  hand  spun  like  a 
whirligig  above  his  ears ;  his  eyes,  having  lost 
their  accustomed  mild  light,  stared  distractedly 
about,  seeking  rescue  and  protection,  as  I  thought. 
In  a  few  moments  I  attracted  his  notice,  though 
.he  seemed  but  partly  to  recognize  me.  There 
was  his  usual  uncertain  recognition  grown  more 
doubtful,  —  nay,  even  hopeless,  —  as  his  face  be- 
trayed. Again  I  caught  his  eye  :  I  felt  that  but 
one  course  was  left  me,  and  at  once  I  aimed  my 
finger  at  him.  He  winced  in  his  delirious  dance. 
I  coiled  it  round  and  round,  weaving  airy  circle 
within  circle ;  quicker  and  quicker  I  wove  my 
spell,  and  at  last  shot  the  whole  hand  at  him,  as 
though  I  would  run  him  through.  He  doubled, 
like  one  struck  with  a  fatal  blow,  and  went  to  the 
ground  all  of  a  senseless  heap.  There  was  a  dis- 
turbance in  the  audience.  Some  of  them  thought 
I  had  bewitched  Taboo  ;  and  it  behooved  me  to  go 
at  once,  rather  than  seek  to  make  explanation  of 
the  singular  result  of  my  presence  there.  I  went, 
and  spent  a  dull  night,  accusing  myself  of  being 
the  possible  spiritual  murderer  of  Taboo.  I  had 
no  business  to  bring  him  to  the  metropolis  at  that 
unfortunate  season ;  I  had  no  right  to  leave  him 
with  his  traducers  :  and  that  was  the  whole  state- 
ment of  the  case. 


TABOO.  — A  FETE-DAY  IN   TAHITI.       103 

The  last  day  of  the  fete  was,  of  course,  less  joy- 
ous to  me.  A  score  of  nameless  nags  were  to  be 
ridden  by  light  weights  in  breech-cloths ;  and  I 
sought  consolation  in  the  prospect  of  seeing  some 
bewitching  horsemanship.  The  track,  in  use  but 
once  every  twelvemonth,  and  yielding  annually  a 
young  orchard  of  guava-trees,  presented  to  the  as- 
tonished gaze  of  the  foreign  sporting-gentleman 
who  happened  to  be  on  the  ground  —  if,  indeed, 
there  was  such  a  one  present  —  a  half-mile  course, 
with  numerous  stones  and  hollows  relieving  its 
surface,  while  the  rope  that  enclosed  it  kept  giving 
way  every  few  moments,  letting  in  a  mixed  multi- 
tude among  the  half-broken  horses. 

The  Queen  was  present  at  the  races,  —  Pomare, 
whose  life  has  been  one  long,  sorrowful  romance  ; 
the  Admiral  was  also  there  ;  and  many  a  petty 
officer,  with  abundant  gilt  and  tinsel.  At  a  signal 
from  the  trumpeter  the  horses  were  entered  unan- 
nounced, and  everybody  betted  wildly.  One  little 
African  jockey,  mounted  upon  the  cleverest  piece 
of  flesh  and  blood  in  the  field,  called  for  the  larger 
stakes  ;  and  he  would  certainly  have  won,  but  for 
an  unavoidable  accident :  the  little  African  was 
pressing  in  on  the  home-stretch,  and  everything 
looked  lovely  for  the  winning  mare,  when,  unluck- 
ily, she  put  her  nigh  leg  in  a  crab-hole,  and 
snapped  her  shin-bone  square  off.  The  undaunted 
little  African  tried  his  best  to  finish  the  heat  on  his 
own  responsibility,  and  went  off  into  the  air  in  fine 


104  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

style,  but  missed  his  calculation,  and  burrowed 
about  three  lengths  from  the  goal.  His  neck  was 
driven  in  nearly  up  to  the  ears,  and  the  mare  had 
to  be  shot ;  but  the  races  went  mercilessly  on 
until  a  tremendous  thunder-storm  flooded  the  track 
and  washed  the  population  back  to  town.  Dance 
after  dance  consumed  the  afternoon  hours ;  and 
song  upon  song,  eternally  reiterated,  finally  failed 
to  create  any  special  enthusiasm. 

I  saw  no  further  traces  of  Taboo.  Again  and 
again  1  followed  knots  of  the  curious  into  the 
larger  native  houses,  where  the  lascivious  dances 
were  given  with  the  utmost  abandon  ;  thither  —  I 
suspected  —  Taboo  would  most  likely  be  impelled, 
for  the  music  was  wilder  and  the  applause  more 
boisterous  and  unrestrained. 

The  evening  of  the  last  day  of  the  fete  was  dark- 
ening ;  most  people  were  growing  a  little  weary  of 
the  long-drawn  festivities ;  many  had  succumbed 
to  their  fatigue,  and  slept  by  the  wayside,  or,  it 
may  be,  they  had  known  too  well  the  nature  of 
the  Tahitian  juices,  such  as  no  man  may  drink 
and  not  fall ! 

The  palace  of  Pomare  —  a  great,  hollow,  incom- 
plete shell,  whose  windows  have  never  been  glazed, 
and  .whose  doors  have  never  b^n  hung  —  was  the 
scene  of  the  concluding  ceremonials  of  the  season. 
The  long  verandas  were  thickly  hung  with  num- 
berless paper-lanterns,  swinging  continually  in  the 
soft  night-winds  that  stole  down  from  the  star-lit 


TABOO.  —  A  F&TE-DAY  IN   TAHITI.        105 

slopes  of  Fautahua ;  the  broad  lawns  in  front  of 
the  palace  were  blocked  oat  in  squares,  like  the 
map  of  a  liliputian  city.  Each  one  of  these  plats 
was  set  apart  for  a  band  of  singers,  and  there  were 
as  many  bands  as  districts  in  Tahiti  and  Moorea, 
together  with  delegations  -from  islands  more  re- 
mote. Soon  the  choruses  began  to  assemble. 
Choirs  of  fifty  voices  each,  male  and  female,  led  by 
tight-headed  drums  and  screaming  fifes,  drew  to- 
ward the  palace-gardens,  and  were  formally  admit- 
ted by  the  proper  authorities,  who  were  very  much 
swollen  with  the  pomp  of  office  and,  perhaps,  a 
little  sprinkle  of  the  exhilarating  accompaniments 
of  the  season.  One  after  another  the  white-robed 
processions  approached,  - —  each  fresh  arrival  look- 
ing more  like  the  chorus  in  "  Norma "  than  the 
last,  though  it  then  seemed  impossible  that  any 
Druid  could  presume  to  appear  more  gracefully 
ghostlike.  Each  singer  wore  a  plume  of  cocoa- 
leaves,  whose  feathers  were  more  lovely  than  the 
downy  wands  of  the  ostrich.  They  were  made  of 
knots  of  long,  slender  ribbons,  softer  than  satin, 
veined  like  clouded  silver,  as  transparent  as  the 
clearest  isinglass,  and  as  delicate  as  the  airiest 
gauze. 

Out  of  the  core  of  the  palm-tree,  in  the  midst  of 
its  rich,  dark  mass  of  foliage,  springs  a  tuft  of 
leaves  as  tender  as  the  first  sprouts  of  a  lily-bulb. 
These  budding  leaves  are  carefully  removed,  split 
edgewise,  and  the  enamelled  sheets  laid  open  to  the 


106  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

sun  ;  then,  with  the  thumb-nail,  passed  skilfully 
over  the  inner  surface,  a  filmy  membrane  is  sepa- 
rated, and  spread  in  the  air  to  dry.  A  single  tree 
yields  but  a  small  cluster  of  these  pale,  cloud-like 
leaves,  scarcely  a  handful  in  all,  yet  the  tree  with- 
ers when  they  pluck  the  heart  of  it.  It  is  the  very 
soul  of  the  Southern  palm,  with  every  leaf  spiritu- 
alized, and  looking  vapory  as  tangible  moonlight. 

The  leader  of  the  concert  having  challenged  the 
choruses  from  the  veranda  of  the  palace,  at  once 
twenty  choirs  struck  into  their  particular  anthem 
with  the  utmost  zeal.  A  discord  about  six  acres 
in  extent  was  the  result.  It  seemed  as  though 
each  choir  was  seeking  whom  it  might  drown  out 
with  superior  vocal  compass  and  volume.  With 
much  difficulty  the  several  bands  of  singers  were 
persuaded  to  await  their  turn  for  a  solo  effort  that 
might  be  listened  to  with  no  small  degree  of  pleas- 
ure. From  time  to  time,  during  the  entire  even- 
ing, some  obstreperous  chorus  would  break  loose, 
spite  of  every  precaution ;  and  it  had  always  to 
sing  itself  out  before  order  could  be  restored. 
Taboo  would  have  thoroughly  enjoyed  those  two 
thousand  singers,  each  singing  his  or  her  favorite 
roundelay,  independent  of  all  laws  of  time  and 
melody.  He  might  have  been  there,  as  it  was, 
offering  his  inharmonious  chant  with  the  mob  of 
contestants. 

By  the  time  the  series  of  prize-songs  had  been 
sung,  the  sky  grew  cloudy,  and  the  torches  began 


TABOO.  — A  FETE-DAY  IN    TAHITI.       107 

to  flicker  in  the  increasing  wind  ;  a  few  great  drops 
of  rain  spat  down  in  the  midst  of  the  singers,  and 
the  reef  moaned  loudly,  like  the  baying  of  signal- 
guns.  It  was  ominous  of  coming  storms.  At  the 
climax  of  a  choral  revolution,  in  which  every 
man's  voice  seemed  raised  against  his  neighbor's,  a 
roar  as  of  approaching  armies  was  heard,  mingled 
with  the  accompanying  crash  of  artillery.  A  sud- 
den puff  of  wind  extinguished  the  major  part  of 
the  torches,  and  wrecked  many  of  the  lanterns  in 
the  palace  porch.  It  was  simply  a  tropical  shower 
in  all  its  magnificence  ;  but  it  was  enough  !  The 
fete  concluded  then  and  there,  in  the  promptest 
mariner.  The  narrow  streets  of  Papeete  were 
clogged  with  retreating  hosts,  who  continually 
shouted  a  sort  of  general  adieu  to  everybody,  as 
they  gathered  their  skirts  about  them,  and,  with 
shoes  in  hand,  turned  their  bare  feet  homeward. 

Since  the  end  had  at  last  come,  and  I  had  no 
further  claims  upon  the  people,  nor  the  people 
upon  me,  —  if,  indeed,  either  of  us  were  ever  any- 
thing in  particular  to  one  another,  —  I  drifted 
with  the  majority,  and  soon  found  myself  in  the 
suburban  wilderness  that  girdles  the  small  capital 
of  the  queendom.  I  wandered  on  till  the  noise 
of  the  revellers  grew  more  and  more  indistinct. 
They  were  scattering  themselves  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  island,  carrying  their  songs 
with  them.  Now  and  then  a  fresh  gust  of  wind 
bore  down  to  me  an  echo  of  a  refrain  that  had 


108  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

grown  familiar  during  the  days  of  the  fete,  and 
will  not  soon  be  forgotten ;  but  the  past  was 
rapidly  fading,  and  the  necessities  of  the  future 
began  to  present  themselves  with  unusual  bold- 
ness. Instinctively  I  turned  into  the  winding 
trail  that  once  before  had  led  me  toward  that 
mysterious  mountain  sacristy,  over  whose  font  fell 
the  spiritual  and  dreamlike  rivulet  whose  baptis- 
mal virtues  Taboo  and  I  had  sought  together.  I 
felt  certain  that  I  could  find  it  without  guidance  ; 
for  the  broken  clouds  let  slip  such  floods  of  moon- 
light as  made  day  of  darkness,  and  rendered  the 
smallest  landmark  easily  distinguishable. 

I  paused  for  rest  in  the  breadfruit  grove  where 
first  I  met  with  my  weird  companion.  Presently 
I  resumed  my  pilgrimage,  wending  my  way  toward 
the  slender  path  that  led  through  fern,  forest,  and 
bamboo-jungle,  to  the  crystal  lake  and  waterfall. 
In  vain  I  sought  it ;  the  slightest  traces  of  the 
trail  seemed  obliterated.  I  wandered  up  and 
down  the  winding  way,  till  I  was  in  despair  of 
finding  the  slightest  clew  to  the  mystery.  I  sat 
down  and  thought  how  a  slight  accident  of  forget- 
ful ness  was  lending  a  sense  of  enchantment  to  the 
whole  valley,  when  I  heard  a  stumbling  step,  too 
marked  to  be  soon  forgotten.  I  crept  into  a 
shadow,  and  awaited  the  approach  of  the  solitary 
wanderer.  How  he  tottered  as  he  drew  near ! 
He  seemed  to  have' lost  part  of  his  small  skill 
since  I  last  saw  him.  He  was  laughing  quietly 


TABOO.  — A  FETE-DAY  IN   TAHITI.        109 

to  himself  while  he  journeyed :  perhaps  some 
memory  of  the  fete  still  pleased  him.  He  passed 
me,  unconscious  of  my  presence.  I  ran  cautiously, 
and  followed  him  at  a  safe  distance.  We  threaded 
the  old  path,  by  stream  and  cliff  and  brake,  and, 
after  a  little,  reached  the  secluded  and  silent 
borders  of  the  lake.  Once  or  twice  he  had  heard 
me  as  I  brushed  past  the  bamboos  or  a  twig 
snapped  under  foot,  but  those  forest-sounds 
scarcely  disconcerted  him  ;  he  was  too  well  used 
to  them.  He  paused  at  the  margin  of  the  lake, 
stooped  awkwardly  and  drank  of  it,  went  a  little 
to  one  side  where  an  outlet  fed  the  torrent  we  had 
forded  some  distance  down  the  valley,  and  there 
he  bathed.  Having  started  once  or  twice,  as 
though  with  some  remembered  and  definite  pur- 
pose, he  paused  a  moment  or  two,  looked  about 
him  helplessly,  and  returned  to  the  foot  of  the 
great  tree  where  we  slept  the  first  night  of  our 
acquaintance. 

There  was  a  faint  suggestion  of  the  fall  across 
the  sombre  breast  of  the .  cliff  opposite,  but 
whether  it  were  real  or  a  delusion,  I  could  scarcely 
determine.  Taboo  was  soon  asleep  among  the 
roots  of  the  banyan ;  and  I,  weary  of  seeking 
some  revelation  of  the  island  mysteries,  lay  down 
near  him,  and  gradually  sank  into  unconscious- 
ness. Once  in  the  night  I  awoke  :  the  clouds  had 
blown  over,  and  the  moon  was  more  resplendent 
than  I  ever  remember  to  have  seen  it.  Out  on 


110  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

the  mossy  rim  of  the  lake  stood  Taboo,  gazing 
wistfully  upon  the  mountains.  Instinctively  my 
eyes  followed  his,  and  there  I  beheld  the  waterfall 
in  all  its  glory,  leaping,  like  a  ray  of  light,  from 
the  bosom  of  the  sky.  I  could  scarcely  determine 
whether  or  no  it  really  fell  into  the  lake,  for  the 
foliage  about  its  shores  was  too  profuse.  It  flashed 
like  handfuls  of  diamond-dust  thrown  into  the 
light,  and  descended  as  noiselessly  and  airily  as 
vapor. 

The  clouds  soon  gathered  again.  I  slept,  over- 
come with  weariness ;  and  when  I  awoke  at  dawn, 
Taboo  was  missing,  as  well  as  all  traces  of  the 
fall.  This,  however,  scarcely  surprised  me,  for  I 
had  grown  to  look  upon  it  as  some  lunar  effect 
that  came  and  went  with  the  increasing  or  decreas- 
ing splendor  of  the  moon ;  or  it  might  have  been 
the  short-lived  offspring  of  the  showers  that  sweep 
over  the  island  at  uncertain  intervals.  It  was 
probably  the  only  dramatic  result  to  be  looked  for 
in  the  career  of  Taboo.  You  never  can  depend 
upon  one  of  those  veering  minds,  whose  north-star 
has  burned  out  in  oblivion.  I  believe  it  was  his 
destiny  to  disappear  with  that  rainbow,  and,  per- 
haps, return  with  it  when  the  fall  should  noise- 
lessly steal  down  the  mountain  once  more. 

He  may  have  had  an  object  in  secreting  him- 
self for  a  season  ;  perhaps  he  was  renewing  his 
youthful  innocence  in  some  more  solitary  spot. 
He  may  have  gone  apart  to  laugh  by  the  hour  at 


TABOO.  — A   FETE-DAY  IN    TAHITI.        \\\ 

the  folly  of  the  foreigners  who  fete  a  disgraced 
emperor;  or  was  he  making  his  queer  noises  to 
hear  the  queerer  echoes  that  caine  back  to  him, 
and  all  the  while  caring  no  more  for  life  or  death 
than  a  parrot  or  a  magpie,  or  even  a  poor,  half- 
shapen  soul,  —  one  of  those  sacred  idiots  that 
have  found  worshippers  before  now,  and  never  yet 
failed  to  awaken  a  chord  of  sympathy  in  the  heart 
that  is  fashioned  after  the  Divine  pattern  of  the 
Son  of  God  1 


JOE  OF  LAHAINA. 


I. 


WAS  stormed  in  at  Lahaina.  Now,  La- 
haina  is  a  little  slice  of  civilization, 
beached  on  the  shore  of  barbarism.  One 
can  easily  stand  that  little  of  it,  for  brown  and 
brawny  heathendom  becomes  more  wonderful  and 
captivating  by  contrast.  So  I  was  glad  of  dear, 
drowsy,  little  Lahaina ;  and  was  glad,  also,  that 
she  had  but  one  broad  street,  which  possibly  led 
to  destruction,  and  yet  looked  lovely  in  the  dis- 
tance. It  did  n't  matter  to  me  that  the  one  broad 
street  had  but  one  side  to  it ;  for  the  sea  lapped 
over  the  sloping  sands  on  its  lower  edge,  and  the 
sun  used  to  set  right  in  the  face  of  every  solitary 
citizen  of  Lahaina,  just  as  he  went  to  supper. 

I  was  waiting  to  catch  a  passage  in  a  passing 
schooner,  and  that 's  why  I  came  there  ;  but  the 
schooner  flashed  by  us  in  a  great  gale  from  the 
south,  and  so  I  was  stormed  in  indefinitely. 

It  was  Holy  Week,  and  I  concluded  to  go  to 
housekeeping,  because  it  would  be  so  nice  to  have 


JOE  OF  LAHAINA.  113 

my  frugal  meals  in  private,  to  go  to  mass  and  ves- 
pers daily,  and  then  to  come  back  and  feel  quite 
at  home.  My  villa  was  surburban,  —  built  of  dried 
grasses  on  the  model  of  a  haystack,  dug  out  in 
the  middle,  with  doors  and  windows  let  into  the 
four  sides  thereof.  It  was  planted  in  the  midst 
of  a  vineyard,  with  avenues  stretching  in  all  direc- 
tions, under  a  network  of  stems  and  tendrils. 

"  Her  breath  is  sweeter  than  the  sweet  winds 
That  breathe  over  the  grape-blossoms  of  Lahaina." 

So  the  song  said  ;  and  I  began  to  think  upon  the 
surpassing  sweetness  of  that  breath,  as  I  inhaled 
the  sweet  winds  of  Lahaina,  while  the  wilderness 
of  its  vineyards  blossomed  like  the  rose.  I  used 
to  sit  in  my  veranda  and  turn  to  Joe  (Joe  was  my 
private  and  confidential  servant),  and  I  would  say 
to  Joe,  while  we  scented  the  odor  of  grape,  and 
saw  the  great  banana-leaves  waving  their  cambric 
sails,  and  heard  the  sea  moaning  in  the  melancholy 
distance,  —  I  would  say  to  him,  "  Joe,  housekeep- 
ing is  good  fun,  is  n't  it  ] "  Whereupon  Joe  would 
utter  a  sort  of  unanimous  Yes,  with  his  whole  body 
and  soul ;  so  that  question  was  carried  trium- 
phantly, and  we  would  relapse  into  a  comfortable 
silence,  while  the  voices  of  the  wily  singers  down 
on  the  city  front  would  whisper  to  us,  and  cause 
us  to  wonder  what  they  could  possibly  be  doing  at 
that  moment  in  the  broad  way  that  led  to  destruc- 
tion. Then  we  would  take  a  drink  of  cocoa-milk, 


114  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

and  finish  our  bananas,  and  go  to  bed,  because  we 
had  nothing  else  to  do. 

This  is  the  way  that  we  began  our  co-operative 
housekeeping  :  One  night,  when  there  was  a  riot- 
ous sort  of  a  festival  off  in  a  retired  valley,  I  saw, 
in  the  excited  throng  of  natives  who  were  going 
mad  over  their  national  dance,  a  young  face  that 
seemed  to  embody  a  whole  tropical  romance.  On 
another  night,  when  a  lot  of  us  were  bathing  in 
the  moonlight,  I  saw  a  figure  so  fresh  and  joyous 
that  I  began  to  realize  how  the  old  Greeks  could 
worship  mere  physical  beauty  and  forget  its 
higher  forms.  Then  I  discovered  that  face  on 
this  body,  —  a  rare  enough  combination,  —  and 
the  whole  constituted  Joe,  a  young  scapegrace 
who  was  schooling  at  Lahaina,  under  the  eye  — 
not  a  very  sharp  one  —  of  his  uncle.  When  I 
got  stormed  in,  and  resolved  on  housekeeping  for 
a  season,  I  took  Joe,  bribing  his  uncle  to  keep  the 
peace,  which  he  promised  to  do,  provided  I  gave 
bonds  for  Joe's  irreproachable  conduct  while  with 
me.  I  willingly  gave  bonds  —  verbal  ones  —  for 
this  was  just  what  I  wanted  of  Joe  :  namely,  to 
instil  into  his  youthful  mind  those  counsels 
which,  if  rigorously  followed,  must  result  in  his 
becoming  a  true  and  un terrified  American.  This 
compact  settled,  Joe  took  up  his  bed,  —  a  roll  of 
mats,  —  and  down  we  marched  to  my  villa,  and 
began  housekeeping  in  good  earnest. 

We  soon  got  settled,  and  began  to  enjoy  life, 


JOE   OF  LAHAINA.  115 

though  we  were  not  without  occasional  domestic  in^ 
felicities.  For  instance,  Joe  would  wake  up  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,  declaring  to  me  that  it  was 
morning,  and  thereupon  insist  upon  sweeping  out  at 
once,  and  in  the  most  vigorous  manner.  Having 
filled  the  air  with  dust,  he  would  rush  oft'  to  the 
baker's  for  our  hot  rolls  and  a  pat  of  breakfast  but- 
ter, leaving  me,  meantime,  to  recover  as  I  might. 
Having  settled  myself  for  a  comfortable  hour's 
reading,  bolstered  up  in  a  luxurious  fashion,  Joe 
would  enter  with  breakfast,  and  orders  to  the  ef- 
fect that  it  be  eaten  at  once  and  without  delay. 
It  was  useless  for  me  to  remonstrate  with  him  : 
he  was  tyrannical. 

He  got  me  into  all  sorts  of  trouble.  It  was 
Holy  Week,  and  I  had  resolved  upon  going  to 
mass  and  vespers  daily.  I  went.  The  soft  night- 
winds  floated  in  through  the  latticed  windows  of 
the  chapel,  and  made  the  candles  flicker  upon 
the  altar.  The  little  throng  of  natives  bowed  in 
the  impressive  silence,  and  were  deeply  moved. 
It  was  rest  for  the  soiil  to  be  there ;  yet,  in  the 
midst  of  it,  while  the  Father,  with  his  pale,  sad 
face,  gave  his  instructions,  to  which  we  listened 
as  attentively  as  possible,  —  for  there  was  some- 
thing in  his  manner  and  his  voice  that  made  us 
better  creatures,  —  while  we  listened,  in  the  midst 
of  it  I  heard  a  shrill  little  whistle,  a  sort  of  chirp, 
that  I  knew  perfectly  well.  It  was  Joe,  sitting 
on  a  cocoa-stump  in  the  garden  adjoining,  and 


116  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

beseeching  me  to  come  out,  right  off.  When 
service  was  over,  I  remonstrated  with  him  for  his 
irreverence.  "  Joe,"  I  said,  "  if  you  have  no 
respect  for  religion  yourself,  respect  those  who 
are  more  fortunate  than  you."  But  Joe  was 
dressed  in  his  best,  and  quite  wild  at  the  entran- 
cing loveliness  of  the  night.  "  Let 's  walk  a  little," 
said  Joe,  covered  with  fragrant  wreaths,  and  redo- 
lent of  cocoanut-oil.  What  could  I  do  1  If  I  had 
tried  to  do  anything  to  the  contrary,  he  might 
have  taken  me  and  thrown  me  away  somewhere 
into  a  well,  or  a  jungle,  and  then  1  could  no  longer 
hope  to  touch  the  chord  of  remorse,  —  which  chord 
I  sought  vainly,  and  which  I  have  since  concluded 
was  not  in  Joe's  physical  corporation  at  all.  So 
we  walked  a  little.  In  vain  I  strove  to  break  Joe 
of  the  shocking  habit  of  whistling  me  out  of  ves- 
pers. He  would  persist  in  doing  it.  Moreover, 
during  the  day  he  would  collect  crusts  of  bread 
and  banana-skins,  station  himself  in  ambush  be- 
hind the  curtain  of  the  window  next  the  lane,  and, 
as  some  solitary  creature  strode  solemnly  past,  Joe 
would  discharge  a  volley  of  ammunition  over  him, 
and  then  laugh  immoderately  at  his  indignation 
and  surprise.  Joe  was  my  pet  elephant,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  play  with  him  very  cautiously. 

One  morning  he  disappeared.  I  was  without  the 
consolations  of  a  breakfast,  even.  I  made  my 
toilet,  went  to  my  portmanteau  for  my  purse,  —  for 
I  had  decided  upon  a  visit  to  the  baker,  —  when 


JOE   OF  LAHAINA.  117 

lo  !  part  of  my  slender  means  had  mysteriously 
disappeared.  Joe  was  gone,  and  the  money  also. 
All  day  I  thought  about  it.  In  the  morning,  after 
a  very  long  and  miserable  night,  I  woke  up,  and 
when  I  opened  my  eyes,  there,  in  the  doorway, 
stood  Joe,  in  a  brand-new  suit  of  clothes,  includ- 
ing boots  and  hat.  He  was  gorgeous  beyond  de- 
scription, and  seemed  overjoyed  to  see  me,  and 
as  merry  as  though  nothing  unusual  had  happened. 
I  was  quite  startled  at  this  apparition.  "  Joseph  !  " 
I  said  in  my  severest  tone,  and  then  turned  over 
and  looked  away  from  him.  Joe  evaded  the  sub- 
ject in  the  most  delicate  manner,  and  was  never 
so  interesting  as  at  that  moment.  He  sang  his 
specialties,  and  played  clumsily  upon  his  bamboo 
flute,  —  to  soothe  me,  I  suppose,  —  and  wanted  me 
to  eat  a  whole  flat  pie  which  he  had  brought  home 
as  a  peace-offering,  buttoned  tightly  under  his 
jacket.  I  saw  I  must  strike  at  once,  if  I  struck 
at  all ;  so  I  said,  "  Joe,  what  on  earth  did  you 
do  with  that  money  ] "  Joe  said  he  had  replen- 
ished his  wardrobe,  and  bought  the  flat  pie  es- 
pecially for  me.  "Joseph,"  I  said,  with  great 
dignity,  "  do  you  know  that  you  have  been  steal- 
ing, and  that  it  is  highly  sinful  to  steal,  and  may 
result  in  something  unpleasant  in  the  world  to 
come  ?  "  Joe  said,  "  Yes,"  pleasantly,  though  I 
hardly  think  he  meant  it ;  and  then  he  added, 
mildly,  "that  he  couldn't  lie," --which  was  a 
glaring  falsehood,  —  "  but  wanted  me  to  be  sure 


118  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

that  he  took  the  money,  and  so  had  come  back  to 
tell  me." 

"  Joseph,"  I  said,  "  you  remind  me  of  our  noble 
Washington  "  ;  and,  to  my  amazement,  Joe  was 
mortified.  He  did  n't,  of  course,  know  who  Wash- 
ington was,  but  he  suspected  that  I  was  ridiculing 
him.  He  came  to  the  bed  and  haughtily  insisted 
upon  my  taking  the  little  change  he  had  received 
from  his  costumers,  but  T  implored  him  to  keep 
it,  as  I  had  no  use  at  all  for  it,  and,  as  I  assured 
him,  I  much  preferred  hearing  it  jingle  in  his 
pocket. 

The  next  day  I  sailed  out  of  Lahaina,  and  Joe 
came  to  the  beach  with  his  new  trousers  tucked 
into  his  new  boots,  while  he  waved  his  new  hat  vio- 
lently in  a  final  adieu,  much  to  the  envy  and  admi- 
ration of  a  score  of  hatless  urchins,  who  looked  upon 
Joe  as  the  glass  of  fashion,  and  but  little  lower  than 
the  angels.  When  I  entered  the  boat  to  set  sail, 
a  tear  stood  in  Joe's  bright  eye,  and  I  think  he 
was  really  sorry  to  part  with  me ;  and  I  don't 
wonder  at  it,  because  our  housekeeping  experi- 
ences were  new  to  him,  —  and,  I  may  add,  not  un- 
profitable. 

II. 

Some  months  of  mellow  and  beautiful  weather 
found  me  wandering  here  and  there  among  the 
islands,  when  the  gales  came  on  again,  and  I  was 


JOE  OF  LAIIAINA.  119 

driven  about  homeless,  and  sometimes  friendless, 
until,  by  and  by,  I  heard  of  an  opportunity  to 
visit  Molokai,  —  an  island  seldom  visited  by  the 
tourist,  —  where,  perhaps,  I  could  get  a  close  view 
of  a  singularly  sad  and  interesting  colony  of 
lepers. 

The  whole  island  is  green,  but  lonely.  As  you  ride 
over  its  excellent  turnpike,  you  see  the  ruins  of  a 
nation  that  is  passing,  like  a  shadow,  out  of  sight. 
Deserted  garden-patches,  crumbling  walls,  and 
roofs  tumbled  into  the  one  state-chamber  of  the 
house,  while  knots  of  long  grass  wave  at  half  mast 
in  the  chinks  and  crannies.  A  land  of  great 
traditions,  of  magic,  and  witchcraft,  and  spirits. 
A  fertile  and  fragrant  solitude.  How  I  enjoyed 
it ;  and  yet  how  it  was  all  telling  upon  me,  in  its 
own  way  !  One  cannot  help  feeling  sad  there, 
for  he  seems  to  be  living  and  moving  in  a  long 
revery,  out  of  which  he  dreads  to  awaken  to  a 
less  pathetic  life.  I  rode  a  day  or  two  among  the 
solemn  and  reproachful  ruins  with  inexpressible 
complacence,  and,  having  finally  climbed  a  series 
of  verdant  and  downy  hills,  and  ridden  for  twenty 
minutes  in  a  brisk  shower,  came  suddenly  upon 
the  brink  of  a  great  precipice,  three  thousand  feet 
in  the  air.  My  horse  instinctively  braced  him- 
self, and  I  nervously  jerked  the  bridle  square  up  to 
my  breastbone,  as  I  found  we  were  poised  be- 
tween heaven  and  earth,  upon  a  trembling  pin- 
nacle of  rock.  A  broad  peninsula  was  stretched 


120  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

below  me,  covered  with  grassy  hills ;  here  and 
there  clusters  of  brown  huts  were  visible,  and  to 
the  right,  the  white  dots  of  houses  to  which  I  was 
hastening,  for  that  was  the  leper  village.  To 
that  spot  were  the  wandering  and  afflicted  tribes 
brought  home  to  die.  Once  descending  the  nar- 
row stairs  in  the  cliff  under  me,  never  again  could 
they  hope  to  strike  their  tents  and  resume  their 
pilgrimage  ;  for  the  curse  was  on  them,  and  neces- 
sity had  narrowed  down  their  sphere  of  action  to 
this  compass,  —  a  solitary  slope  between  sea  and 
land,  with  the  invisible  sentinels  of  Fear  and  Fate 
forever  watching  its  borders. 

I  seemed  to  be  looking  into  a  fiery  furnace, 
wherein  walked  the  living  bodies  of  those  whom 
Death  had  already  set  his  seal  upon.  What  a 
mockery  it  seemed  to  be  climbing  down  that  crag, 
—  through  wreaths  of  vine,  and  under  leafy  cata- 
racts breaking  into  a  foam  of  blossoms  a  thousand 
feet  below  me ;  swinging  aside  the  hanging  para- 
sites that  obstructed  the  narrow  way.  —  entering 
the  valley  of  death,  and  the  very  mouth  of  hell, 
by  these  floral  avenues  ! 

A  brisk  ride  of  a  couple  of  miles  across  the 
breadth  of  the  peninsula  brought  me  to  the  gate 
of  the  keeper  of  the  settlement,  and  there  I  dis- 
mounted, and  hastened  into  the  house,  to  be  rid 
of  the  curious  crowd  that  had  gathered  to  receive 
me.  The  little  cottage  was  very  comfortable,  my 
host  and  hostess  friends  of  precious  memory ;  and 


JOE   OF  LAIIAINA,  121 

with  them  T  felt  at  once  at  home,  and  began  the 
new  life  that  every  one  begins  when  the  earth 
seems  to  have  been  suddenly  transformed  into 
some  better  or  worse  world,  and  he  alone  survives 
the  transformation. 

Have  you  never  had  such  an  experience  1  Then 
go  into  the  midst  of  a  community  of  lepers  ;  have 
ever  before  your  eyes  their  Gorgon-like  faces ;  see 
the  horrors,  hardly  to  be  recognized  as  human, 
that  grope  about  you ;  listen  in  vain  for  the  voices 
that  have  been  hushed  forever  by  decay ;  breathe 
the  tainted  atmosphere;  and  bear  ever  in  mind 
that,  while  they  hover  about  you,  —  forbidden  to 
touch  you,  yet  longing  to  clasp  once  more  a  hand 
that  is  perfect  and  pure,  —  the  insidious  seeds  of 
the  malady  may  be  generating  in  your  vitals,  and 
your  heart,  even  then,  be  drunk  with  death  ! 

I  might  as  well  confess  that  I  slept  indifferently 
the  first  night ;  that  I  was  not  entirely  free  from 
nervousness  the  next  day,  as  I  passed  through  the 
various  wards  assigned  to  patients  in  every  stage 
of  decomposition.  But  I  recovered  myself  in  time 
to  observe  the  admirable  system  adopted  by  the 
Hawaiian  government  for  the  protection  of  its  un- 
fortunate people.  I  used  to  sit  by  the  window 
and  see  the  processions  of  the  less  afflicted  come 
for  little  measures  of  milk,  morning  and  evening. 
Then  there  was  a  continuous  raid  upon  the  oint- 
ment-pot, with  the  contents  of  which  they  delight- 
ed to  anoint  themselves.  Trifling  disturbances 
6 


122  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

sometimes  brought  the  plaintiff  and  defendant  to 
the  front  gate,  for  final  judgment  at  the  hands  of 
their  beloved  keeper.  And  it  was  a  constant  en- 
tertainment to  watch  the  progress  of  events  in 
that  singular  little  world  of  doomed  spirits.  They 
were  not  unhappy.  I  used  to  hear  them  singing 
every  evening  :  their  souls  were  singing  while  their 
bodies  were  falling  rapidly  to  dust.  They  con- 
tinued to  play  their  games,  as  well  as  they  could 
play  them  with  the  loss  of  a  finger-joint  or  a  toe, 
from  week  to  week  :  it  is  thus  gradually  and  thus 
slowly  that  they  died,  feeling  their  voices  growing 
fainter  and  their  strength  less,  as  the  idle  days 
passed  over  them  and  swept  them  to  the  tomb. 

Sitting  at  the  window  on  the  second  evening, 
as  the  patients  came  up  for  milk,  I  observed  one 
of  them  watching  me  intently,  and  apparently  try- 
ing to  make  me  understand  something  or  other, 
but  what  that  something  was  I  could  not  guess. 
He  rushed  to  the  keeper  and  talked  excitedly  with 
him  for  a  moment,  and  then  withdrew  to  one  side 
of  the  gate  and  waited  till  the  others  were  served 
with  their  milk,  still  watching  me  all  the  while. 
Then  the  keeper  entered  and  told  me  how  I  had  a 
friend  out  there  who  wished  to  speak  with  me,  — 
some  one  who  had  seen  me  somewhere,  he  sup- 
posed, but  whom  I  would  hardly  remember.  It 
was  their  way  never  to  forget  a  face  they  had  once 
become  familiar  with.  Out  I  went.  There  was 
a  face  I  could  not  have  recognized  as  anything 


JOE   OF  LAHATNA.  123 

friendly  or  human.  Knots  of  flesh  stood  out  upon 
it ;  scar  upon  scar  disfigured  it.  .  The  expression 
was  like  that  of  a  mummy,  stony  and  withered. 
The  outlines  of  a  youthful  figure  were  preserved, 
but  the  hands  and  feet  were  pitiful  to  look  at. 
What  was  this  ogre  that  knew  me  and  loved  me 
still  ? 

He  soon  told  me  who  he  had  once  been,  but 
was  no  longer.  Our  little,  unfortunate  "  Joe,"  my 
Lahaina  charge.  In  his  case  the  disease  had  spread 
with  fearful  rapidity  :  the  keeper  thought  he  could 
hardly  survive  the  year.  Many  linger  year  after 
year,  and  cannot  die  ;  but  Joe  was  more  fortunate. 
His  life  had  been  brief  and  passionate,  and  death 
was  now  hastening  him  to  his  dissolution. 

Joe  was  forbidden  to  come  near  me,  so  he 
crouched  down  by  the  fence,  and  pressing  his  hands 
between  the  pickets  sifted  the  dust  at  my  feet, 
while  he  wailed  in  a  low  voice,  and  called  me, 
over  and  over,  "  dear  friend,"  "  good  friend,"  and 
"  master."  I  wish  I  had  never  seen  him  so  hum- 
bled. To  think  of  my  disreputable  little  protege, 
who  was  wont  to  lord  it  over  me  as  though  he  had 
been  a  born  chief,  —  to  think  of  Joe  as  being  there 
in  his  extremity,  grovelling  in  the  dust  at  my  feet ; 
forbidden  to  climb  the  great  wall  of  flowers  that 
towered  between  him  and  his  beautiful  world, 
while  the  rough  sea  lashed  the  coast  about  him, 
and  his  only  companions  were  such  hideous  foes 
as  would  frighten  one  out  of  a  dream  ! 


124  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

How  I  wanted  to  get  close  to  him  !  but  I  dared 
not ;  so  we  sat  there  with  the  slats  of  the  fence 
between  us,  while  we  talked  very  long  in  the  twi- 
light ;  and  I  was  glad  when  it  grew  so  dark  that 
I  could  no  longer  see  his  face,  —  his  terrible  face, 
that  came  to  kill  the  memory  of  his  former  beauty. 

And  Joe  wondered  whether  I  still  remembered 
how  we  used  to  walk  in  the  night,  and  go  home, 
at  last,  to  our  little  house  when  Lahaina  was  as 
still  as  death,  and  you  could  almost  hear  the  great 
stars  throbbing  in  the  clear  sky  !  How  well  I  re- 
membered it,  and  the  day  when  we  went  a  long  way 
down  the  beach,  and,  looking  back,  saw  a  wide 
curve  of  the  land  cutting  the  sea  like  a  sickle,  and 
turning  up  a  white  and  shining  swath  !  Then,  in 
another  place,  a  grove  of  cocoa-palms  and  a  mel- 
ancholy, monastic-looking  building,  with  splendid 
palm-branches  in  its  broad  windows ;  for  it  was 
just  after  Palm  Sunday,  and  the  building  belonged 
to  a  Sisterhood.  And  I  remembered  how  the 
clouds  fell  and  the  rain  drove  us  into  a  sudden 
shelter,  and  we  ate  tamarind-jam,  spread  thick  on 
thin  slices  of  bread,  and  were  supremely  happy. 
In  this  connection,  I  could  not  forget  how  Joe  be- 
came very  unruly  about  that  time,  and  I  got  mor- 
tified, and  found  great  difficulty  in  getting  him 
home  at  all ;  and  yet  the  memory  of  it  would  have 
been  perfect  but  for  this  fate.  0  Joe  !  my  poor, 
dear,  terrible  cobra  !  to  think  that  I  should  ever 
be  afraid  to  look  into  your  face  in  my  life  ! 


JOE   OF  LAHATNA.  125 

Joe  wanted  to  call  to  my  mind  one  other  remi- 
niscence, —  a  night  when  we  two  walked  to  the  old 
wharf,  and  went  out  to  the  end  of  it,  and  sat  there 
looking  inland,  watching  the  inky  waves  slide  up 
and  down  the  beach,  while  the  full  moon  rose  over 
the  saperb  mountains  where  the  clouds  were 
heaped  like  wool,  and  the  very  air  seemed  full  of 
utterances  that  you  could  almost  hear  and  under- 
stand but  for  something  that  made  them  all  a 
mystery.  I  tried  then,  if  ever  I  tried  in  my  life, 
to  make  Joe  a  little  less  bad  than  he  was  naturally, 
and  he  seemed  nearly  inclined  to  be  better,  and 
would,  I  think,  have  been  so,  but  for  the  thousand 
temptations  that  gravitated  to  him  when  we  got 
on  solid  earth  again.  He  forgot  my  precepts  then, 
and  I  'm  afraid  I  forgot  them  myself.  Joe  remem- 
bered that  night  vividly.  I  was  touched  to  hear 
him  confess  it ;  and  I  pray  earnestly  that  that  one 
moment  may  plead  for  him  in  the  last  day,  if, 
indeed,  he  needs  any  special  plea  other  than  that 
Nature  has  published  for  her  own. 

"  Sing  for  me,  Joe,"  said  I ;  and  Joe,  still  crouch- 
ing on  the  other  side  of  the  lattice,  sang  some  of 
his  old  songs.  One  of  them,  a  popular  melody, 
was  echoed  through  the  little  settlement,  where 
faint  voices  caught  up  the  chorus,  and  the  night 
was  wildly  and  weirdly  musical.  We  walked  by 
the  sea  the  next  day,  and  the  day  following  that, 
Joe  taking  pains  to  stay  on  the  leeward  side  of 
me,  —  he  was  so  careful  to  keep  the  knowledge  of 


126  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

his  fate  uppermost  in  his  mind  :  how  could  I  dis- 
miss it  from  my  own,  when  it  was  branded  in  his 
countenance  1  The  desolated  beauty  of  his  face 
plead  for  measureless  pity,  and  I  gave  it,  out  of 
my  prodigality,  yet  felt  that  I  could  not  begin  to 
give  sufficient. 

Link  by  link  he  was  casting  off  his  hold  on  life  ; 
he  was  no  longer  a  complete  being ;  his  soul  was 
prostrated  in  the  miry  clay,  and  waited,  in  agony, 
its  long  deliverance. 

In  leaving  the  leper  village,  I  had  concluded 
to  say  nothing  to  Joe,  other  than  the  usual  "  aloha  " 
at  night,  when  I  could  ride  off,  in  the  darkness, 
and,  sleeping  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  ascend  it  in 
the  first  light  of  morning,  and  get  well  on  my 
journey  before  the  heat  of  the  day.  We  took  a 
last  walk  by  the  rocks  on  the  shore ;  heard  the 
sea  breathing  its  long  breath  under  the  hollow 
cones  of  lava,  with  a  noise  like  a  giant  leper  in 
his  asthmatic  agony.  Joe  heard  it,  and  laughed 
a  little,  and  then  grew  silent ;  and  finally  said  he 
wanted  to  leave  the  place,  —  he  hated  it ;  he  loved 
Lahaina  dearly  :  how  was  everybody  in  Lahaina? 
• —  a  question  he  had  asked  me  hourly  since  my 
arrival. 

When  night  came  I  asked  Joe  to  sing,  as  usual ; 
so  he  gathered  his  mates  about  him,  and  they  sang 
the  songs  I  liked  best.  The  voices  rang,  sweeter 
than  ever,  up  from  the  group  of  singers  congregated 
a  few  rods  off,  in  the  darkness  ;  and  while  they  sang, 


JOE   OF  LAHAfNA,  127 

my  horse  was  saddled,  and  I  quietly  bade  adieu  to 
my  dear  friends,  the  keepers,  and  mounting,  walked 
the  horse  slowly  up  the  grass-grown  road.  I  shall 
never  see  little  Joe  again,  with  his  pitiful  face, 
growing  gradually  as  dreadful  as  a  cobra's,  and 
almost  as  fascinating  in  its  hideousness.  I  waited, 
a  little  way  off,  in  the  darkness,  —  waited  and 
listened,  till  the  last  song  was  ended,  and  I  knew 
he  would  be  looking  for  me,  to  say  Good  night. 
But  he  did  n't  find  me ;  and  he  will  never  again 
find  me  in  this  life,  for  I  left  him  sitting  in  the 
dark  door  of  his  sepulchre,  —  sitting  and  singing 
in  the  mouth  of  his  grave,  —  clothed  all  in  death. 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS  OF  WAIPIO. 


HE  afternoon  sun  was  tinting  the  snowy 
crest  of  Mauna  Kea,  and  folds  of  shadow 
were  draping  the  sea-washed  eastern  cliffs 
of  Hawaii,  as  Felix  and  I  endeavored  to  persuade 
our  fagged  steeds  that  they  must  go  and  live,  or 
stay  and  die  in  the  middle  of  a  lava-trail  by  no 
means  inviting.  As  we  rode,  we  thought  of  the 
scandal  that  had  so  recently  regaled  our  too  will- 
ing ears  :  here  it  is,  in  a  mild  solution,  to  be  taken 
with  three  parts  of  disbelief. 

Two  venerable  and  warm-hearted  missionaries, 
whose  good  works  seemed  to  have  found  dissimilar 
expression,  equally  effective,  I  trust,  proved  their 
specialties  to  be  church-building. 

Rev.  Mr.  A  seemed  to  think  the  more  the  mer- 
rier, and  his  pretty  little  meeting-houses  looked 
as  though  they  had  been  baked  in  the  lot,  like  a 
sheet  of  biscuits ;  while  Rev.  Mr.  B  condensed  his 
efforts  into  the  consummation  of  one  resplendent 
edifice.  Mr.  A  was  always  wondering  why  Mr.  B 
should  waste  his  money  in  a  single  church,  while 
Mr.  B  was  nonplussed  at  seeing  Mr.  A  break  out 


1  THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF    WAIPIO.       129 

in  a  rash  of  diminutive  chapels.  Well,  Felix  and 
I  were  riding  northward  up  the  coast,  over  dozens 
and  dozens  of  lovely  ridges ;  through  scores  of 
deep  gullies  cushioned  with  ferns  as  high  as  our 
pommels,  and  fording  numberless  streams,  white 
with  froth  and  hurry,  eagerly  seeking  the  most 
exquisite  valley  in  the  Pacific,  as  some  call  it. 
We  rode  till  we  were  tired  out  twenty  times 
over ;  again  and  again  we  looked  forward  to  the 
bit  of  Mardi-life  we  were  about  to  experience  in 
the  vale  of  the  Waipio,  while  now  and  then  we 
passed  one  of  Mr.  A's  pretty  little  churches.  Once 
we  were  impatient  enough  to  make  inquiry  of  a 
native  who  was  watching  our  progress  with  con- 
siderable emotion  :  there  is  always  some  one  to 
watch  you  when  you  are  wishing  yourself  at  the 
North  Pole.  Our  single  spectator  affected  an  air 
of  gravity,  and  seemed  quite  interested  as  he  said, 
"  Go  six  or  seven  churches  farther  on  that  trail,  and 
you  '11  come  to  Waipio."  On  we  went  with  renewed 
spirits,  for  the  churches  were  frequent,  almost 
within  sight  of  each  other.  But  we  faltered  pres- 
ently and  lost  our  reckoning,  they  were  so  much 
alike.  Again  we  asked  our  way  of  a  solitary 
watcher  on  a  hill-top,  who  had  had  his  eye  upon 
us  ever  since  we  rose  above  the  rim  of  the  third 
ridge  back  :  he  revealed  to  us  the  gkd  fact  that 
we  were  only  two  churches  from  Paradise  !  How 
we  tore  over  the  rest  of  that  straight  and  narrow 
way  with  the  little  life  left  to  us,  and  came  in 
6*  i 


130  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

finally  all  of  a  foam,  fairly  jumping  the  last  mite 
of  a  chapel  that  hung  upon  the  brink  of  the  beauti- 
ful valley  like  a  swallow's  nest !  And  down  we 
dropped  into  fifty  fathoms  of  the  sweetest  twilight 
imaginable,  —  so  sweet  it  seemed  to  have  been  born 
of  a  wilderness  of  the  night-blooming  cereus  and 
fed  forever  on  jasmine  buds. 

There  were  shelter  and  refreshment  for  two  hun- 
gry souls,  and  we  slid  out  of  our  saddles  as  though 
we  had  been  boned  expressly  for  a  cannibal  feast. 

By  this  time  the  rosy  flush  on  Mauna  Kea  had 
faded,  and  its  superb  brow  was  pale  with  an  un- 
earthly pallor.  "  Come  in,"  said  the  .host ;  and  he 
led  us  under  the  thatched  gable,  that  was  fragrant 
as  new-mown  hay.  There  we  sat,  "  in,"  as  he 
called  it,  though  there  was  never  a  side  to  the 
concern  thicker  than  a  shadow. 

A  stream  flowed  noiselessly  at  our  feet.  Canoes 
drifted  by  us,  with  dusky  and  nude  forms  bowed 
over  the  paddles.  Each  occupant  greeted  us, 
being  guests  in  "the  valley,  just  lifting  their  slum- 
berous eyelids,  —  masked  batteries,  that  made  Fe- 
lix forget  his  danger ;  they  seldom  paused,  but 
called  back  to  us  from  the  gathering  darkness  with 
inexpressibly  tender,  contralto  voices. 

Thereupon  we  were  summoned  to  dinner  in 
another  apartment,  screened  with  vines.  The  faint 
flicker  of  the  tapers  suggested  that  what  breath 
of  air  might  be  stirring  came  from  the  mountain, 
and  it  brought  with  it  a  message  from  the  orangery 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF    WAIPIO.       131 

up  the  valley.  "  How  will  you  take  your  oranges  1 " 
queried  Felix;  "  in  pulp,  liquid,  or  perfume ]"  — 
and  such  a  dense  odor  swept  past  us  at  the  moment, 
I  thought  I  had  taken  them  in  the  triple  forms. 
"You  are  just  in  time,"  said  our  host.  "Why, 
what 's  up  1 "  asked  I.  "  The  moon  will  be  up  pres- 
ently, and  after  moonrise  you  shall  see  the  hula- 
hula." 

Felix  desired  to  be  enlightened  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  what-you-call-it,  and  was  assured  that  it 
was  worth  seeing,  and  would  require  no  explana- 
tory chorus  when  its  hour  came. 

It  was  at  least  a  mile  to  the  scene  of  action  :  a 
tortuous  stream  wound  thither,  navigable  in  spots, 
but  from  time  to  time  the  canoe  would  have  to 
take  to  the  banks  for  a  short  cut  into  deeper 
water. 

"  I  can  never  get  there,"  growled  Felix  ;  "  I  'm 
full  of  needles  and  pins  " ;  to  which  the  host  re- 
sponded by  excusing  himself  for  a  few  moments, 
leaving  Felix  and  me  alone.  It  was  deathly  still 
in  the  valley,  though  a  thousand  crickets  sang, 
and  the  fish  smacked  their  round  mouths  at  the 
top  of  the  water.  Evening  comes  slowly  in  those 
beloved  tropics,  but  it  comes  so  satisfactorily  that 
there  is  nothing  left  out. 

A  moonlight  night  is  a  continuous  festival. 
The  natives  sing  and  dance  till  daybreak,  making 
it  all  up  by  sleeping  till  the  next  twilight.  Noth- 
ing is  lost  by  this  ingenious  and  admirable  ar- 


132  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

rangement.  Why  should  they  sleep,  when  a  night 
there  has  the  very  essence  of  five  nights  anywhere 
else,  extracted  and  enriched  with  spices  till  it  is  so 
inspiring  that  the  soul  cries  out  in  triumph,  and 
the  eyes  could  n't  sleep  if  they  would] 

At  this  period,  enter  to  us  the  host,  with  several 
young  native  girls,  who  seat  themselves  at  our 
feet,  clasping  each  a  boot-leg  encasing  the  extremi- 
ties of  Felix  and  myself. 

Felix  kicked  violently,  and  left  the  room  with 
some  embarrassment,  and  I  appealed  to  the  hos- 
pitable gentleman  of  the  house,  who  was  smiling 
somewhat  audibly  at  our  perplexity. 

He  assured  me  that  if  I  would  throw  myself 
upon  the  mats  in  the  corner,  two  of  these  maids 
would  speedily  relieve  me  of  any  bodily  pain  I 
might  at  that  moment  be  suffering  with. 

I  did  so  :  the  two  proceeded  as  set  down  in 
the  verbal  prospectus ;  and  whatever  bodily  pain 
I  may  have  possessed  at  the  beginning  of  the  pro- 
cess speedily  dwindled  into  insignificance  by  com- 
parison with  the  tortures  of  my  novel  cure.  Every 
limb  had  to  be  unjointed  and  set  over  again. 
Places  were  made  for  new  joints,  and  I  think  the 
new  joints  were  temporarily  set  in.  for  my  arms 
and  legs  went  into  angles  I  had  never  before  seen 
them  in,  nor  have  I  since  been  able  to  assume 
those  startling  attitudes.  The  stomach  was  then 
kneaded  like  dough.  The  ribs  were  crushed  clown 
against  the  spine,  and  then  forced  out  by  well-di- 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF   WAIPIO.       133 

rected  blows  in  the  back.  The  spinal  column  was 
undoubtedly  abstracted,  and  some  mechanical  sub- 
stitute now  does  its  best  to  help  me  through  the 
world.  The  arms  were  tied  in  bow-knots  behind, 
and  the  skull  cracked  like  the  shell  of  a  hard-boiled 
egg,  worked  into  shape  again,  and  left  to  heal. 

By  this  time  I  was  unconscious,  and  for  an  hour 
my  sleep  promised  to  be  eternal.  I  must  have 
lain  flat  on  the  matting,  without  a  curve  in  me, 
when  Nature,  taking  pity,  gradually  let  me  rise 
and  assume  my  own  proportions,  as  though  a  little 
leaven  had  been  mixed  in  rny  making  over. 

The  awakening  was  like  coming  from  a  bath  of 
the  elements.  I  breathed  to  the  tips  of  my  toes. 
Perfumes  penetrated  me  till  I  was  saturated  with 
them.  I  felt  a  thousand  years  younger ;  and  as 
I  looked  back  upon  the  old  life  T  seemed  to  have 
risen  from,  I  thought  of  it  much  as  a  butterfly 
must  think  of  his  grub-hood,  and  was  in  the  act  of 
expanding  my  wings,  when  I  saw  Felix,  just  re- 
covering, a  few  feet  from  me,  apparently  as  ecstat- 
ic as  myself.  I  never  dared  to  ask  him  how  he 
was  reduced  to  submission,  for  I  little  imagined  he 
could  so  far  forget  himself.  There  are  some  sud- 
den and  inexplicable  revolutions  in  the  affairs  of 
humanity  that  should  not  be  looked  into  too  close- 
ly, because  a  chaotic  chasrn  yawns  between  the  old 
man  and  the  new,  which  no  one  has  ever  yet  ex- 
plored. Felix  sprang  to  his  feet  like  Prometheus 
unbound,  and  embraced  me  with  fervor,  as  one 


134  SOUTH -SEA  IDYLS. 

might  after  a  hair-breadth  escape,  exclaiming, 
"  Did  you  ever  see  anything  like  it,  Old  Boy  ] " 
to  which  the  Old  Boy,  thus  familiarly  addressed 
(0.  B.  is  a  pet  monogram  of  mine,  designed  and 
frequently  executed  by  Felix),  responded,  "  There 
was  n't  much  to  see,  but  my  feelings  were  past  ex- 
pression." "  What 's  its  name  ] "  asked  Felix.  "  I 
think  they  call  it  lomi-lomi"  said  I.  "  Pass  lomi- 
lomi  ! "  shouted  Felix ;  and  then  we  both  roared 
again,  which  summoned  the  host,  who  congratulat- 
ed us  and  invited  us  to  his  canoe. 

Felix  again  endeavored  to  fathom  the  mysteries 
of  the  hula-hula.  Was  it  something  to  eat  ?  —  did 
they  keep  it  tied  in  the  daytime  1  —  what  was  its 
color?  etc.,  till  the  amused  gentleman  who  was 
conducting  us  to  an  exhibition  of  the  great  Un- 
known nearly  capsized  our  absurdly  narrow  canoe 
in  the  very  deepest  part  of  the  creek.  Bands  of 
fishermen  and  women  passed  us,  wading  breast- 
high  in  the  water,  beating  it  into  a  foam  before 
them,  and  singing  at  the  top  of  their  voices  as 
they  drove  the  fish  down  stream  into  a  broad  net 
a  few  rods  below.  Grass-houses,  half  buried  in 
foliage,  lined  the  mossy  banks ;  while  the  dusky 
groups  of  women  and  children,  clustering  about 
the  smouldering  flames  that  betokened  the  prep- 
aration of  the  evening  meal,  added  not  a  little  to 
the  poetry  of  twilight  in  the  tropics. 

Felix  thought  he  would  like  to  turn  Kanaka  on 
the  spot ;  so  we  beached  the  canoe,  and  approached 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF  WAIPIO.        135 

the  fire,  built  on  a  hollow  stone  under  a  tama- 
rind-tree, and  were  at  once  offered  the  cleanest 
mat  to  sit  on,  and  a  calabash  of  poi  for  our  re- 
freshment. How  to  eat  paste  without  a  spoon  was 
the  next  question.  The  whole  family  volunteered 
to  show  us;  drew  up  around  the  calabash  in  a 
hungry  circle,  and  dipped  in  with  a  vengeance. 
Six  right  hands  spread  their  first  and  second  fin- 
gers like  sigD-boards  pointing  to  a  focus  in  the 
very  centre  of  that  poi-paste  ;  six  fists  dove  simul- 
taneously, and  were  buried  in  the  luscious  mass. 
There  was  a  spasmodic  working  in  the  elbows,  an 
effort  to  come  to  the  top,  and  in  a  moment  the 
hands  were  lifted  aloft  in  triumph,  and  seemed  to 
be  tracing  half  a  dozen  capital  O's  in  the  transpar- 
ent air,  during  which  manoeuvre  the  mass  of  poi 
adhering  to  the  fingers  assumed  fair  proportions, 
resembling,  to  a  remarkable  degree,  large,  white 
swellings ;  whereupon  they  were  immediately  con- 
veyed to  the  several  mouths,  instinctively  getting 
into  the  right  one,  and,  having  discharged  freight, 
reappeared  as  good  as  ever,  if  not  better  than  be- 
fore. 

"Disgusting  ! "  gasped  Felix,  as  he  returned  to 
the  water-side.  I  thought  him  unreasonable  in 
his  harsh  judgment,  assuring  him  that  our  own 
flour  was  fingered  as  often  before  it  came,  at  last, 
to  our  lips  in  the  form  of  bread.  "  Moreover,"  I 
added,  "  this  poi  is  glutinous  :  the  moment  a  fin- 
ger enters  it,  a  thin  coating  adheres  to  the  skin, 


136  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

and  that  finger  may  wander  about  the  calabash  all 
day  without  touching  another  particle  of  the  sub- 
stance. Therefore,  six  or  sixteen  fellows  fingering 
in  one  dish  for  dinner  are  in  reality  safer  than  we, 
who  eat  steaks  that  have  been  mesmerized  under 
the  hands  of  the  butcher  and  the  cook." 

Felix  scorned  to  reply,  but    breathed    a  faint 
prayer  for  a  safe  return  to  Chicago,  as  we  slid  into  • 
the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  resumed  our  course. 

The  boughs  of  densely  leaved  trees  reached  out 
to  one  another  across  the  water.  We  proceeded 
with  more  caution  as  the  channel  grew  narrow; 
and  pressing  through  a  submerged  thicket  of  reeds, 
we  routed  a  flock  of  water-fowls  that  wheeled  over- 
head on  heavy  wings,  filling  the  valley  with  their 
clamor. 

Two  or  three  dogs  barked  sleepily  off  somewhere 
in  the  darkness,  and  the  voice  of  some  one  calling 
floated  to  us  as  clear  as  a  bird's  note,  though  we 
knew  it  must  be  far  away.  We  strode  through  a 
cane-field,  its  smoky  plumes  just  tipped  with 
moonlight,  and  saw  the  pinnacle  of  Mauna  Kea, 
as  spacious  and  splendid  as  the  fairy  pavilion  that 
Nourgihan  brought  to  Pari-Banou,  illuminated  as 
for  a  festival.  To  the  left,  a  stream  fell  from  the 
cliff,  a  ribbon  of  gauze  fluttering  noiselessly  in  the 
wind. 

"  0,  look  !  "  said  Felix,  who  had  yielded  again  to 
the  influences  of  Nature.  Looking,  I  saw  the  moon 
resting  upon  the  water  for  a  moment,  while  the 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF  WAIPIO.        137 

dew  seemed  actually  to  drip  from  her  burnished 
disk.  Again  Felix  exclaimed,  or  was  on  the  point 
of  exclaiming,  when  he  checked  himself  in  awe. 
I  ran  to  him,  and  was  silent  with  him,  while  we 
two  stood  worshipping  one  stately  palm  that  rest- 
ed its  glorious  head  upon  the  glowing  bosom  of 
the  moon,  like  the  Virgin  in  the  radiant  aureola. 

"Well,"  said  our  host,  "supposing  we  get 
along ! "  We  got  along,  by  land  and  water,  into 
a  village  in  an  orange-grove.  There  was  a  sub- 
dued murmur  of  many  voices.  I  think  the  whole 
community  would  have  burst  out  into  a  song  of 
some  sort  at  the  slightest  provocation.  On  we 
paced,  in  Indian  file,  through  narrow  lanes,  under 
the  shining  leaves.  Pale  blossoms  rained  down 
upon  us,  and  the  air  was  oppressively  sweet. 
Groups  of  natives  sat  in  the  lanes,  smoking  and 
laughing.  Lovers  made  love  in  the  face  of  heaven, 
utterly  unconscious  of  any  human  presence.  Felix 
grew  nervous,  and  proposed  withdrawing ;  but 
whither,  0  Felix,  in  all  these  islands,  wouldst  thou 
hope  to  find  love  unrequited,  or  lovers  shamefaced 
withal  1  Much  Chicago  hath  made  thee  mad  ! 

Through  a  wicket  we  passed,  where  a  sentinel 
kept  ward.  Within  the  bamboo  paling,  a  swarrn 
of  natives  gathered  about  us,  first  questioning  the 
nature  of  our  visit,  which  having  proved  entirely 
satisfactory,  we  were  welcomed  in  real  earnest, 
and  offered  a  mat  in  an  inner  room  of  a  large 
house,  rather  superior  to  the  average,  and  a  dis- 


138  SOUTH  SEA  IDYLS. 

agreeable  liquor,  —  brewed  of  oranges,  very  intoxi- 
cating when  not  diluted,  and  therefore  popular. 

We  were  evidently  the  lions  of  the  hour,  for  we 
sat  in  the  centre  of  the  first  row  of  spectators  who 
were  gathered  to  witness  the  hula-hula.  We  re- 
clined as  gracefully  as  possible  upon  our  mats, 
supported  by  plump  pillows,  stuffed  with  dried 
ferns.  Slender  rushes  —  strung  with  kukui-nuts, 
about  the  size  of  chestnuts,  and  very  oily  —  were 
planted  before  us  like  foot-lights,  which,  being 
lighted  at  the  top,  burned  slowly  downward,  till 
the  whole  were  consumed,  giving  a  good  flame  for 
several  hours. 

The  great  mat  upon  the  floor  before  us  was  the 
stage.  On  one  side  of  it  a  half-dozen  muscular 
fellows  were  squatted,  with  large  calabashes  head- 
ed with  tightly  drawn  goat-skins.  These  were  the 
drummers  and  singers,  who  could  beat  nimbly 
with  their  fingers,  and  sing  the  epics  of  their 
country,  to  the  unceasing  joy  of  all  listeners.  "  It 's 
an  opera  !  "  shouted  Felix,  in  a  frenzy  of  delight  at 
his  discovery.  A  dozen  performers  entered,  sitting 
in  two  lines,  face  to  face,  —  six  women  and  six 
men.  Each  bore  a  long  joint  of  bamboo,  slit  at 
one  end  like  a  broom.  Then  began  a  singularly 
intricate  exercise,  called  pi-ulu.  Taking  a  bamboo 
in  one  hand,  they  struck  it  in  the  palm  of  the 
other,  on  the  shoulder,  on  the  floor  in  front,  to 
left  and  right;  thrust  it  out  before  them,  and 
were  parried  by  the  partners  opposite ;  crossed  it 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF  WAIPIO.        139 

over  and  back,  and  turned  in  a  thousand  ways  to 
a  thousand  metres,  varied  with  chants  and  pauses. 
"  Then  it 's  a  pantomime,"  added  Felix,  getting 
interested  in  the  unusual  skill  displayed.  For 
half  an  hour  or  more  the  thrashing  of  the  bamboos 
was  prolonged,  while  we  were  hopelessly  confused 
in  our  endeavors  to  follow  the  barbarous  harmony, 
which  was  never  broken  nor  disturbed  by  the  ex- 
pert and  tireless  performers. 

During  the  first  rest,  liquor  was  served  in  gourds. 
Part  of  the  company  withdrew  to  smoke,  and  the 
conversation  became  general  and  noisy.  Felix 
was  enthusiastic,  and  drank  the  health  of  some  of 
the  younger  members  of  the  troupe  who  had  offered 
him  the  gourd. 

A  rival  company  then  repeated  the  pi-ulu,  with 
some  additions  ;  the  gourds  were  again  filled  and 
emptied.  "  Now  for  the  hula-hula"  said  the  host, 
who  had  imbibed  with  Felix,  though  he  reserved 
his  enthusiasm  for  something  less  childish  than 
pi-ulu.  It  is  the  national  dance,  taught  to  all 
children  by  their  parents,  but  so  difficult  to  excel 
in  that  the  few  who  perfect  themselves  can  afford 
to  travel  on  this  one  specialty. 

There  was  a  murmur  of  impatience,  speedily 
checked,  and  followed  by  a  burst  of  applause,  as  a 
band  of  beautiful  girls,  covered  with  wreaths  of 
flowers  and  vines,  entered  and  seated  themselves 
before  us.  While  the  musicians  beat  an  introduc- 
tory overture  upon  the  tom-toms,  the  dancers  pro- 


140  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

ceeded  to  bind  shawls  and  scarfs  about  their  waists, 
turban-fashion.  They  sat  in  a  line,  facing  us,  a 
foot  or  two  apart.  The  loose  sleeves  of  their 
dresses  were  caught  up  at  the  shoulder,  exposing 
arms  of  almost  perfect  symmetry,  while  their  bare 
throats  were  scarcely  hidden  by  the  necklaces  of 
jasmines  that  coiled  about  them. 

Then  the  leader  of  the  band,  who  sat,  gray- 
headed  and  wrinkled,  at  one  end  of  the  room, 
throwing  back  his  head,  uttered  a  long,  wild,  and 
shrill  guttural,  —  a  sort  of  invocation  to  the  god- 
dess of  the  hula-hula.  There  had,  no  doubt,  been 
some  sort  of  sacrifice  offered  in  the  early  part  of 
the  evening,  —  such  as  a  pig  or  a  fowl,  —  for  the 
dance  has  a  religious  significance,  and  is  attended 
by  its  appropriate  ceremonies.  When  this  clarion 
cry  had  endc^,  the  dance  began,  all  joining  in  with 
wonderfully  accurate  rhythm,  the  body  swaying 
slowly  backward  and  forward,  to  left  and  right ; 
the  arms  tossing,  or  rather  waving,  in  the  air 
above  the  head,  now  beckoning  some  spirit  of 
light,  so  tender  and  seductive  were  the  emotions 
of  the  dancers,  so  graceful  and  free  the  movements 
of  the  wrists;  now,  in  violence  and  fear,  they 
seemed  to  repulse  a  host  of  devils  that  hovered 
invisibly  about  them. 

The  spectators  watched  and  listened  breathless- 
ly, fascinated  by  the  terrible  wildness  of  the  song 
and  the  monotonous  thrumming  of  the  accompani- 
ment. Presently  the  excitement  increased.  Swift- 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF  WAIPIO.        141 

er  and  more  wildly  the  bare  arms  beat  the  air, 
embracing,  as  it  were,  the  airy  forms  that  haunted 
the  dancers,  who  rose  to  their  knees,  and,  .with  as- 
tonishing agility,  caused  the  clumsy  turbans  about 
their  loins  to  quiver  with  an  undulatory  motion, 
increasing  or  decreasing  with  the  sentiment  of  the 
song  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  spectators. 

Felix  wanted  to  know  "how  long  they  could 
keep  that  up  and  live]" 

Till  daybreak,  as  we  found  !  There  was  a  little 
resting-spell  —  a  very  little  resting-spell,  now  and 
then  —  for  the  gourd's  sake,  or  three  whiffs  at  a 
pipe  that  would  poison  a  White  Man  in  ten  min- 
utes; and  before  we  half  expected  it,  or  had  a 
thought  of  urging  the  unflagging  dancers  to  renew 
their  marvellous  gyrations,  they  were  at  it  in 
terrible  earnest. 

From  the  floor  to  their  knees,  from  their  knees 
to  their  feet,  now  facing  us,  now  turning  from  us, 
they  spun  and  ambled,  till  the  ear  was  deafened 
with  cheers  and  boisterous,  half-drunken,  wholly 
passionate  laughter. 

The  room  whirled  with  the  reeling  dancers,  who 
seemed  encircled  with  living  serpents  in  the  act 
of  swallowing  big  lumps  of  something  from  their 
throats  clear  to  the  tips  of  their  tails,  and  the 
convulsions  continued  till  the  hysterical  dancers 
staggered  and  fell  to  the  floor,  overcome  by  unut- 
terable fatigue. 

The  sympathetic  Felix  fell  with  them,  his  head 


142  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

sinking  under  one  of  the  rush  candles,  that  must 
have  burned  into  his  brain  had  he  been  suffered 
to  immolate  himself  at  that  inappropriate  and 
unholy  time  and  place.  This  was  the  seductive 
dance  still  practised  in  secret,  though  the  law  for- 
bids it ;  and  to  the  Hawaiian  it  is  more  beautiful, 
because  more  sensuous,  than  anything  else  in  the 
world. 

I  proposed  departing  at  this  stage  of  the  festi- 
val, but  Felix  said  it  was  not  practicable.  He  felt 
unwell,  and  suggested  the  efficacy  of  another  at- 
tack of  lomi-lomi. 

A  slight  variation  in  the  order  of  the  dances 
followed.  A  young  lover,  seated  in  the  centre  of 
the  room,  beat  a  tattoo  upon  his  calabash  and  sang 
a  song  of  love.  In  a  moment  he  was  answered. 
Out  of  the  darkness  rose  the  sweet,  shrill  voice 
of  the  loved  one.  Nearer  and  nearer  it  ap- 
proached ;  the  voice  rang  clear  and  high,  melodi- 
ously swelling  upon  the  air.  It  must  have  been 
heard  far  off  in  the  valley,  it  was  so  plaintive  and 
penetrating.  Secreted  at  first  behind  shawls  hung 
in  the  corner  of  the  room,  some  dramatic  effect 
was  produced  by  her  entrance  at  the  right  moment. 
She  enacted  her  part  with  graceful  energy.  To 
the  regular  and  melancholy  thrumming  of  the 
calabash,  she  sang  her  song  of  love.  Yielding  to 
her  emotion,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  betray  all, 
neither  was  he  of  the  calabash  slow  to  respond ; 
and,  scorning  the  charms  of  goat-skin  and  gourd, 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS    OF  WAIPIO.        143 

he  sprang  toward  her  in  the  madness  of  his  soul, 
when  she,  having  reached  the  climax  of  despera- 
tion, was  hurried  from  the  scene  of  her  conquest 
amid  whirlwinds  of  applause. 

"  It 's  a  dance,  that 's  what  it  is ! "  muttered 
Felix,  as  the  audience  began  slowly  to  disperse. 
Leading  him  back  to  the  canoe,  we  had  the  whole 
night's  orgie  reported  to  us  in  a  very  mixed  and 
reiterative  manner,  as  well  as  several  attempts  at 
illustrating  the  peculiarities  of  the  performance, 
which  came  near  resulting  in  a  watery  grave 
for  three,  or  an  upset  canoe,  at  any  rate.  Our 
host,  to  excuse  any  impropriety,  for  which  he  felt 
more  or  less  responsible,  said  "  it  was  so  natural 
for  them  to  be  jolly  under  all  circumstances  that 
when  they  have  concluded  to  die  they  make  their 
P.  P.  C.'s  with  infinite  grace,  and  then  die  on 
time." 

Of  course  they  are  jolly  ;  and  to  prove  it,  I  told 
Felix  how  the  lepers,  who  had  been  banished  to 
one  little  corner  of  the  kingdom,  and  forbidden  to 
leave  there  in  the  flesh,  were  as  merry  as  the 
merriest,  and  once  upon  a  time  those  decaying 
remnants  of  humanity  actually  gave  a  grand  ball 
in  their  hospital.  There  was  a  general  clearing 
out  of  disabled  patients,  and  a  brushing  up  of  old 
finery,  while  the  ball  itself  was  the  topic  of  conver- 
sation. Two  or  three  young  fellows,  who  had  a 
,  few  fingers  left  (they  unjoint  and  drop  off  as  the 
disease  progresses),  began  to  pick  up  a  tune  or 


144  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

two  on  bamboo  flutes.  Old,  young,  and  middle- 
aged  took  a  sly  turn  in  some  dark  corner,  getting 
their  stiffened  joints  limber  again. 

Night  came  at  last.  The  lamps  flamed  in  the 
death-chamber  of  the  lazar-house.  Many  a  re- 
joicing soul  had  fled  from  that  foul  spot,  to  flash 
its  white  wings  in  the  eternal  sunshine. 

At  an  early  hour  the  strange  company  assembled. 
The  wheezing  of  voices  no  longer  musical,  the 
shuffling  of  half-paralyzed  limbs  over  the  bare  floor, 
the  melancholy  droning  of  those  bamboo  flutes, 
and  the  wild  sea  moaning  in  the  wild  night  were 
the  sweetest  sounds  that  greeted  them.  And 
while  the  flutes  piped  dolorously  to  this  unlovely 
spectacle,  there  was  a  rushing  to  and  fro  of  unlove- 
ly figures  ;  a  bleeding,  half-blind  leper,  seizing  an- 
other of  the  accursed  beings,  —  snatching  her,  as  it 
were,  from  the  grave,  in  all  her  loathsome  clay,  — 
dragged  her  into  the  bewildering  maelstrom  of  the 
waltz. 

Naturally  excitable,  heated  with  exertion,  drunk 
with  the  very  odors  of  death  that  pervaded  the 
hall  of  revels,  that  mad  crowd  reeled  through  the 
hours  of  the  fete.  Satiated,  at  last,  in  the  very 
bitterness  of  their  unnatural  gayety,  they  called 
for  the  hula-hula  as  a  fitting  close. 

In  that  reeking  atmosphere,  heavy  with  the 
smoke  of  half -extinguished  lamps,  they  fed  on  the 
voluptuous  abandon  of  the  dancers  till  passion 
itself  fainted  with  exhaustion. 


THE  NIGHT-DANCERS   OF  WAIPIO.        145 

"That  was  a  dance  of  death,  was  it  not,  Felix  1 " 
Felix  lay  on  his  mat,  sleeping  heavily,  and  evident- 
ly unmindful  of  a  single  word  I  had  uttered. 

Our  time  was  up  at  daybreak,  and,  with  an  end- 
less deal  of  persuasion,  Felix  followed  me  out  of 
the  valley  to  the  little  chapel  on  the  cliff.  Oar 
horses  took  a  breath  there,  and  so  did  we,  bird's- 
eying  the  scene  of  the  last  night's  orgie. 

Who  says  it  isn't  a  delicious  spot,  —  that  deep, 
narrow,  and  secluded  vale,  walled  by  almost  per- 
pendicular cliffs,  hung  with  green  tapestries  of 
ferns  and  vines  ;  that  slender  stream,  like  a  thread 
of  silver,  embroidering  a  carpet  of  Nature's  richest 
pattern  ;  that  torrent,  leaping  from  the  cliff  into  a 
garden  of  citrons ;  the  sea  sobbing  at  its  mouth, 
while  wary  mariners,  coasting  in  summer  after- 
noons, catch  glimpses  of  the  tranquil  and  forbidden 
paradise,  yet  are  heedless  of  all  its  beauty,  and 
reck  not  the  rustling  of  the  cane-fields,  nor  the 
voices  of  the  charmers,  because  —  because  these 
things  are  so  common  in  that  latitude  that  one 
grows  naturally  indifferent  1 

As  for  Felix,  who  talks  in  his  sleep  of  the  hula- 
hula,  and  insists  that  only  by  the  lomi-lomi  he 
shall  be  saved,  he  points  a  moral,  though  at  pres- 
ent he  is  scarcely  in  a  condition  to  adorn  any 
tale  whatever ;  and  said  moral  I  shall  be  glad  to 
furnish,  on  application,  to  any  sympathetic  soul 
who  has  witnessed  by  proxy  the  unlawful  revels 
of  those  night-dancers  of  Waipio. 

7  J 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN  THE  POMOTOUS. 


j]HE  Great  Western  ducked  in  the  heavy 
swell,  shipping  her  regular  deck-load  of 
salt-water  every  six  minutes.  Now  the 
Great  Western  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
seventeen-ton  schooner,  two  hours  out  from  Tahiti. 
She  was  built  like  an  old  shoe,  and  shovelled  in  a 
head  sea  as  though  it  was  her  business. 

It  was  something  like  sea  life,  wading  along  her 
submerged  deck  from  morning  till  night,  with  a 
piece  of  raw  junk  in  one  hand  and  a  briny  biscuit 
in  the  other ;  we  never  could  keep  a  fire  in  that 
galley,  and  as  for  hard  tack,  the  sooner  it  got 
soaked  through  the  sooner  it  was  off  our  minds, 
for  we  knew  to  this  complexion  it  must  shortly 
come. 

Two  hours  out  from  Tahiti  we  settled  our 
course,  wafting  a  theatrical  kiss  or  two  toward  the 
gloriously  green  pyramid  we  were  turning  our 
backs  on,  as  it  slowly  vanished  in  the  blue  desert 
of  the  sea. 

A  thousand  palm-crowned  and  foam-girdled 
reefs  spangle  the  ocean  to  the  north  and  east  of 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN   THE  POMOTOUS.     147 

Tahiti.  This  train  of  lovely  satellites  is  known 
as  the  Dangerous  Archipelago,  or,  more  commonly 
in  that  latitude,  the  Pomotou  Islands.  It 's  the 
Tery  hot-bed  of  cocoa-nut  oil,  pearls,  half-famished 
Kanakas,  shells,  and  shipwrecks.  The  currents 
are  rapid  and  variable ;  the  winds  short,  sharp, 
and  equally  unreliable.  If  you  would  have  advent- 
ure, the  real  article  and  plenty  of  it,  make  your 
will,  bid  farewell  to  home  and  friends,  and  embark 
for  the  Pomotous.  I  started  on  this  principle, 
and  repented  knee-deep  in  the  deck-breakers,  as 
we  butted  our  way  through  the  billows,  bound  for 
one  of  the  Pomotous  on  a  pearl  hunt. 

Three  days  I  sat  in  sackcloth  and  salt  water. 
Three  nights  I  swashed  in  my  greasy  bunk,  like  a 
solitary  sardine  in  a  box  with  the  side  knocked 
out.  In  my  heart  of  hearts  I  prayed  for  deliver- 
ance :  you  see  there  is  no  backing  out  of  a  schooner, 
unless  you  crave  death  in  fifty  fathoms  of  phos- 
phorescent liquid  and  a  grave  in  a  shark's  maw. 
Therefore  I  prayed  for  more  wind  from  the  right 
quarter,  for  a  sea  like  a  boundless  mill-pond ;  in 
short,  for  speedy  deliverance  on  the  easiest  terms 
possible.  Notwithstanding,  we  continued  to  bang 
away  at  the  great  waves  that  crooked  their  backs 
under  us  and  hissed  frightfully  as  they  enveloped 
the  Great  Western  with  spray  until  the  fourth  night 
out,  when  the  moon,  gladdened  us  and  promised 
much  while  we  held  our  breath  in  anxiety. 

We  were  looking  for  land.     We  'd  been  looking 


148  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

for  three  hours,  scarcely  speaking  all  that  time. 
It 's  a  serious  matter  raising  a  Pomotou  by  moon- 
light. 

"  Land  ! "  squeaked  a  weak  voice  about  six  feet 
above  us.  A  lank  fellow,  with  his  legs  corkscrewed 
around  the  shrouds,  and  his  long  neck  stretched 
to  windward,  where  it  veered  like  a  weather-cock 
in  a  nor'wester,  chuckled  as  he  sung  out  "  Land  !  " 
and  felt  himself  a  little  lower  than  Christopher  Co- 
lumbus thereafter.  "  Where  away*?"  bellowed  our 
chunky  little  captain,  as  important  as  if  he  were 
commanding  a  grown-up  ship.  u  Two  points  on 
the  weather-bow  ! "  piped  the  lookout,  with  the 
voice  of  one  soaring  in  space,  but  unhappily  choked 
in  the  last  word  by  a  sudden  lurch  of  the  schooner 
that  brought  him  speedily  to  the  deck,  where  he 
lost  his  identity  and  became  a  proper  noun,  second 
person,  singular,  for  the  rest  of  the  cruise. 

Now,  "  two  points "  is  an  indefinite  term  that 
embraces  any  obstacle  ahead  of  anything  ;  but  the 
"  weather-bow  "  has  been  the  salvation  of  many  a 
craft  in  her  distress ;  so  we  gave  three  cheers  for 
the  u  weather-bow,"  and  proceeded  to  sweep  the 
horizon  with  unwinking  gaze.  We  could  scarcely 
tell  how  near  the  land  might  lie  ;  fancied  we  could 
already  hear  the  roar  of  surf-beaten  reefs,  and 
every  wave  that  reared  before  us  seemed  the 
rounded  outline  of  an  island.  Of  course  we  short- 
ened sail,  not  knowing  at  what  moment  we  might 
find  ourselves  close  upon  some  low  sea-garden 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN   THE  POMOTOUS.     149 

nestling  under  the  rim  of  breakers  that  fenced  it 
in,  and  being  morally  averse  to  running  it  down 
without  warning. 

It  was  scarcely  midnight ;  the  moon  was  radiant ; 
we  were  silently  watching,  wrapped  in  the  deep 
mystery  that  hung  over  the  weather-bow. 

The  wind  suddenly  abated  ;  it  was  as  though  it 
sifted  through  trees  and  came  to  us  subdued  with 
a  whisper  of  fluttering  leaves  and  a  breath  of  spice. 
We  knew  what  it  meant,  and  our  hearts  leaped 
within  us  as  over  the  bow  loomed  the  wave-like 
outline  of  shadow  that  sank  not  again  like  the 
other  waves,  neither  floated  off  cloud-like,  but 
seemed  to  be  bearing  steadily  down  upon  us,  —  a 
great  whale  hungry  for  a  modern  Jonah. 

What  a  night  it  was  !  We  heard  the  howl  of 
waters  now ;  saw  the  palm  boughs  glisten  in  the 
moonlight,  and  the  glitter  and  the  flash  of  foam 
that  fringed  the  edges  of  the  half-drowned  islet. 

It  looked  for  all  the  world  like  a  grove  of  cocoa- 
trees  that  had  waded  out  of  sight  of  land,  and 
did  n't  know  which  way  to  turn  next.  This  wras 
the  Ultima  Thule  of  the  Great  Western's  voyage, 
and  she  seemed  to  know  it,  for  she  behaved  splen- 
didly at  last,  laying  off  and  on  till  morning  in  fine 
style,  evidently  as  proud  as  a  ship-of-line. 

I  went  below  and  dozed,  with  the  low  roar  of 
the  reef  quite  audible ;  a  fellow  gets  used  to  such 
dream-music,  and  sleeps  well  to  its  accompani- 
ment. 


150  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

At  daybreak  we  began  beating  up  against  wind 
and  tide,  hoping  to  work  into  smooth  water  by 
sunrise,  which  we  did  easily  enough,  shaking  hands 
all  around  over  a  cup  of  thick  coffee  and  molasses 
as  three  fathoms  of  chain  whizzed  overboard  after 
a  tough  little  anchor  that  buried  itself  in  a  dim 
wilderness  of  corals  and  sea- grass. 

Then  and  there  I  looked  about  me  with  delight- 
ed eyes.  The  Great  Western  rode  at  anchor  in  a 
shallow  lake,  whose  crystal  depths  seemed  never 
to  have  been  agitated  by  any  harsher  breath  than 
at  that  moment  kissed  without  ruffling  its  surface. 
Around  us  swept  an  amphitheatre  of  hills,  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  tropical  foliage  and  cush- 
ioned to  the  hem  of  the  beach  with  thick  sod  of 
exquisite  tint  and  freshness.  The  narrow  rim  of 
beach  that  sloped  suddenly  to  the  tideless  margin 
of  the  lake  was  littered  with  numberless  slender 
canoes  drawn  out  of  the  water  like  so  many  fish, 
as  though  they  would  navigate  themselves  in  their 
natural  element,  and  they  were,  therefore,  not  to 
be  trusted  alone  too  near  it.  Around  the  shore, 
across  the  hills,  and  along  the  higher  ridges  waved 
innumerable  cocoa-palms,  planted  like  a  legion  of 
lances  about  the  encampment  of  some  barbaric 
prince. 

As  for  the  very  blue  sky  and  the  very  white 
scud  that  shot  across  it,  they  looked  windy  enough ; 
moreover  we  could  all  hear  the  incoherent  boom- 
ing of  the  sea  upon  the  reef  that  encircled  our 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN   THE  POMOTODS.     151 

nest.  But  we  forgot  the  wind  and  the  waves  in 
the  inexpressible  repose  of  that  armful  of  tropical 
seclusion.  It  was  a  drop  of  water  in  a  tuft  of 
moss,  on  a  very  big  scale;  that's  just  what  it 
was. 

In  a  few  moments,  as  with  one  impulse,  the 
canoes  took  to  water  with  a  savage  or  two  in  each, 
all  gravitating  to  the  schooner,  which  was  for  the 
time  being  the  head-centre  of  their  local  com- 
merce ;  and  for  an  hour  or  more  we  did  a  big  busi- 
ness in  the  exchange  of  fish-hooks  and  fresh  fruit. 

The  proportion  of  canoes  at  Motu  Hilo  (Crescent 
Island)  to  the  natives  of  said  fragment  of  Eden 
was  as  one  to  several ;  but  the  canoeless  could  not 
resist  the  superior  attraction  of  a  foreign  invader, 
therefore  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  went  head- 
first into  the  lake,  and  struck  out  for  the  middle, 
where  we  peacefully  swung  at  anchor. 

The  place  was  sharky,  but  a  heavy  dirk  full 
twenty  inches  tall  was  held  between  the  teeth  of 
the  swimmers  ;  and  if  the  smoke-colored  dorsal  of 
any  devil  of  a  shark  had  dared  to  cut  the  placid 
surface  of  the  water  that  morning,  he  would  speed- 
ily have  had  more  blades  in  him  than  a  farrier's 
knife.  A  few  vigorous  strokes  of  the  arms  and 
legs  in  the  neighborhood,  a  fatal  lunge  or  two,  a 
vermilion  cloud  in  a  sea  churned  to  a  cream,  and 
a  dance  over  the  gaping  corpse  of  some  monster 
who  has  sucked  human  blood  more  than  once, 
probably,  does  the  business  in  that  country. 


152  SOUTH  SEA  IDYLS. 

It  was  a  sensation  for  unaccustomed  eyes,  that 
inland  sea  covered,  littered,  I  might  say,  with 
woolly  heads,  as  though  a  cargo  of  cocoa-nuts  had 
been  thrown  overboard  in  a  stress  of  weather. 
They  gathered  about  as  thick  as  flies  at  a  honey- 
pot,  all  talking,  laughing,  and  spouting  mouthfuls 
of  water  into  the  air  like  those  impossible  creatures 
that  do  that  sort  of  thing  by  the  half-dozen  in  all 
high-toned  and  classical  fountains. 

Out  of  this  amphibious  mob  one  gigantic  youth, 
big  enough  to  eat  half  our  ship's  crew,  threw  up 
an  arm  like  Jove's,  clinched  the  deck-rail  with 
lithe  fingers,  and  took  a  rest,  swinging  there  with 
the  utmost  satisfaction. 

I  asked  him  aboard,  but  he  scorned  to  forsake 
his  natural  element  :  water  is  as  natural  as  air  to 
those  natives.  Probably  he  would  have  suffered 
financially  had  he  attempted  boarding  us,  for  his 
thick  back  hair  was  netted  with  a  kind  of  spacious 
nest  and  filled  with  eggs  on  sale.  It  was  quite 
astonishing  to  see  the  ease  with  which  he  navigated 
under  his  heavy  deck-load. 

This  colossal  youth  having  observed  that  I  was 
an  amateur  humanitarian,  virtue  received  its  in- 
stant reward  (which  it  doesn't  in  all  climates), 
for  he  at  once  offered  me  three  of  his  eggs  in 
a  very  winning  and  patronizing  manner. 

I  took  the  eggs  because  I  like  eggs,  and  then  I 
was  anxious  to  get  his  head  above  water  if  possi- 
ble ;  therefore  I  unhesitatingly  took  the  eggs,  offer- 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN   THE  POMOTOUS.     153 

ing  him  in  return   a  fish-hook,  a  tenpemiy  nail, 
and  a  dilapidated  key-ring. 

These  tempting  curios  he  spurned,  at  the  same 
moment  reaching  me  another  handful  of  eggs. 
His  generosity  both  pleased  and  alarmed  me.  I 
saw  with  joy  that  his  chin  was  quite  out  of  water 
in  consequence  of  his  charity,  even  when  he 
dropped  back  into  the  sea,  floating  for  a  few  mo- 
ments so  as  to  let  the  blood  circulate  in  his  arm 
again  ;  but  whether  this  was  his  magnanimous  gift, 
or  merely  a  trap  to  involve  me  in  hopeless  debt, 
I  was  quite  at  a  loss  to  know,  and  I  paused  with 
my  hands  full  of  eggs,  saying  to  myself,  There  is 
an  end  to  fish-hooks  in  the  South  Pacific,  and 
dilapidated  key-rings  are  not  my  staple  product  ! 

In  the  midst  of  my  alarm  he  began  making  vows 
of  eternal  friendship.  This  was  by  no  means  dis- 
agreeable to  me.  He  was  big  enough  to  whip  any 
two  of  his  fellows,  and  one  likes  to  be  on  the  best 
side  of  the  stronger  party  in  a  strange  land. 

I  reciprocated  ! 

I  leaned  over  the  stern-rail  of  the  Great  West- 
ern in  the  attitude  of  Juliet  in  the  balcony  scene, 
assuring  that  egg-boy  that  my  heart  was  his  if  he 
was  willing  to  take  it  at  second-hand. 

He  liked  my  sentiments,  and  proposed  touching 
noses  at  once  (a  barbarous  greeting  still  observed 
in  the  most  civilized  countries  with  even  greater 
license,  since  with  Christians  it  is  allowable  to 
touch  mouths). 

7* 


154  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

We  touched  noses,  though  I  was  in  danger  of 
sliding  headlong  into  the  sea.  After  this  cere- 
monial he  consented  to  board  the  Great  Western, 
which  having  accomplished  with  my  help,  he  de- 
posited his  eggs  at  my  feet,  offered  me  his  nose 
once  more,  and  communicated  to  me  his  name, 
asking  in  the  same  breath  for  mine. 

He  was  known  as  Hua  Manu,  or  Bird's  Egg. 
Every  native  in  the  South  Sea  gets  named  by  ac- 
cident. I  knew  a  fellow  whose  name  was  "  Cock- 
eye " ;  he  was  a  standing  advertisement  of  his 
physical  deformity.  A  fellow  that  knew  me  re- 
joiced in  the  singular  cognomen  of  "  Thrown  from 
a  horse."  Fortunately  he  does  n't  spell  it  with  so 
many  letters  in  his  tongue.  His  christening  hap- 
pened in  this  wise  :  A  bosom  friend  of  his  mother 
was  thrown  from  a  horse  and  killed  the  day  of  his 
birth.  Therefore  the  bereaved  mother  reared  that 
.  child,  an  animated  memorial,  who  in  after  years 
clove  to  me,  and  was  as  jolly  as  though  his  earthly 
mission  was  n't  simply  to  keep  green  the  memory 
of  his  mother's  bosom  friend  sailing  through  the 
ah-  with  a  dislocated  neck. 

I  turned  to  my  new-found  friend.  " Hua  Manu," 
said  I,  "  for  my  sake  you  have  made  a  bird's-nest 
of  your  back  hair.  You  have  freely  given  me  your 
young  affection  and  your  eggs.  Receive  the  sin- 
cere thanks  of  yours  truly,  together  with  these 
fish-hooks,  these  tenpenny  nails,  this  key-ring." 
Hna  Manu  smiled  and  accepted,  burying  the  fish- 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN   THE  POMOTOUS.     155 

hooks  in  his  matted  forelock,  and  inserting  a  ten- 
penny  nail  and  a  key-ring  in-  either  ear,  thereby 
making  himself  the  envy  of  the  entire  population 
of  Motu  Hilo,  and  feeling  himself  as  grand  as  the 
best  chief  in  the  archipelago. 

So  we  sat  together  on  the  deck  of  the  Great 
Western,  quite  dry  for  a  wonder,  exchanging 
sheep's-eyes  and  confidences,  mutually  happy  in 
each  other's  society.  Meanwhile  the  captain  was 
arranging  his  plans  for  an  immediate  purchase  of 
such  pearls  as  he  might  find  in  possession  of  the 
natives,  and  for  a  fresh  search  for  pearl  oysters  at 
the  earliest  possible  hour.  There  were  no  pearls 
on  hand.  What  are  pearls  to  a  man  who  has  as 
many  wives,  children,  and  cocoa-nuts  as  he  can 
dispose  of  ?  Pearls  are  small  and  colorless.  Give 
them  a  handful  of  gorgeous  glass  beads,  a  stick  of 
sealing-wax,  or  some  spotted  beans,  and  keep  your 
pale  sea-tears,  milky  and  frozen  and  apt  to  grow 
sickly  yellow  and  die  if  they  are  not  cared  for. 

Motu  Hilo  is  independent.  No  man  has  squat- 
ted there  to  levy  tax  or  toll.  We  were  each  one 
of  us  privileged  to  hunt  for  pearls  and  keep  our 
stores  separate.  I  said  to  Hua  Manu,  "  Let's  in- 
vest in  a  canoe,  explore  the  lagoon  for  fresh  oyster- 
beds,  and  fill  innumerable  cocoa-nut  shells  with 
these  little  white  seeds.  It  will  be  both  pleasant 
and  profitable,  particularly  for  me."  We  were 
scarcely  five  minutes  bargaining  for  our  outfit,  and 
we  embarked  at  once,  having  agreed  to  return  in 


156  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

a  couple  of  days  for  news  concerning  the  success 
of  the  Great  Western  and  her  probable  date  of 
sailing. 

Seizing  a  paddle,  Hua  Manu  propelled  our  canoe 
with  incredible  rapidity  out  of  the  noisy  fleet  in 
the  centre  of  the  lake,  toward  a  green  point  that 
bounded  it,  one  of  the  horns  of  the  crescent.  He 
knew  a  spot  where  the  oyster  yawned  in  profusion, 
a  secret  cave  for  shelter,  a  forest  garden  of  fruits, 
a  never-failing  spring,  etc.  Thither  we  would  fly 
and  domesticate  ourselves.  The  long,  curved 
point  of  land  soon  hid  the  inner  waters  from  view. 
We  rose  and  sank  on  the  swell  between  the  great 
reef  and  the  outer  rim  of  the  island,  while  the  sun 
glowed  fiercely  overhead  and  the  reef  howled  in 
our  ears.  Still  on  we  skimmed,  the  water  hissing 
along  the  smooth  sides  of  the  canoe,  that  trembled 
at  every  fierce  stroke  of  Hua  Manu's  industrious 
paddle.  No  chart,  no  compass,  no  rudder,  no  ex- 
change of  references,  no  letter  of  introduction,  yet 
I  trusted  that  wild  Hercules  who  was  hurrying  me 
away,  I  knew  not  whither,  with  an  earnestness 
that  forced  the  sweat  from  his  naked  body  in 
living  streams. 

At  last  we  turned  our  prow  and  shot  through  a 
low  arch  in  a  cliff,  so  low  we  both  ducked  our  heads 
instinctively,  letting  the  vines  and  parasites  trail 
over  our  shoulders  and  down  our  backs. 

It  was  a  dark  passage  into  an  inner  cave  lit 
from  below,  —  a  cave  filled  with  an  eternal  and 


PEARL-HUNTING  JN   THE  POMOTOUS.     157 

sunless  twilight  that  was  very  soothing  to  our 
eyes  as  we  came  in  from  the  glare  of  sea  and  sky. 

"  Look  !  "  said  Hna  Manu.  Overhead  rose  a 
compressed  dome  of  earth,  a  thick  matting  of  roots, 
coil  within  coil.  At  the  side  innumerable  ledges, 
shelves  and  seams  lined  with  nests,  and  never. a 
nest  without  its  egg,  often  two  or  more  together. 
Below  us,  in  two  fathoms  of  crystal,  sunlit  and 
luminous  bowers  of  coral,  and  many  an  oyster 
asleep  with  its  mouth  open,  and  many  a  prismatic 
fish  poising  itself  with  palpitating  gills,  and  gauzy 
fins  fanning  the  water  incessantly. 

"  Hua  Manu  !"  I  exclaimed  in  rapture,  "  permit 
me  to  congratulate  you.  In  you  I  behold  a  regu- 
lar South  Sea  Monte  Christo,  and  no  less  magnifi- 
cent title  can  do  you  justice."  Thereat  Hua  Manu 
laughed  immoderately,  which  laugh  having  run 
out  we  both  sat  in  our  canoe  and  silently  sucked 
eggs  for  some  moments. 

A  canoe-length  from  where  we  floated,  a  clear 
rill  stole  noiselessly  from  above,  mingling  its  sweet 
waters  with  the  sea  ;  on  the  roof  of  our  cavern 
fruits  flourished,  and  we  were  wholly  satisfied. 
After  such  a  lunch  as  ours  it  behooved  us  to  cease 
idling  and  dive  for  pearls.  So  Hua  Manu  knotted 
his  long  hair  tightly  about  his  forehead,  cautiously 
transferred  himself  from  the  canoe  to  the  water, 
floated  a  moment,  inhaling  a  wonderfully  long 
breath,  and  plunged  under.  How  he  struggled  to 
get  down  to  the  gaping  oysters,  literally  climbing 


158      *  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

down  head-first  !  I  saw  his  dark  form  wrestling 
with  the  elements  that  strove  to  force  him  back  to 
the  surface,  crowding  him  out  into  the  air  again. 
He  seized  one  of  the  shells,  but  it  shut  immedi- 
ately, and  he  tugged  and  jerked  and  wrenched  at  ' 
it  like  a  young  demon  till  it  gave  way,  when  he 
struck  out  and  up  for  air.  All  this  seemed  an  age 
to  me.  I  took  full  twenty  breaths  while  he  was 
down.  Reaching  the  canoe,  he  dropped  the  great, 
ugly-looking  thing  into  it,  and  hung  over  the  out- 
rigger gasping  for  breath  like  a  man  half  hanged. 
He  was  pale  about  the  mouth,  his  eyes  were  suf- 
fused with  blood,  blood  oozed  from  his  ears  and 
nostrils ;  his  limbs,  gashed  with  the  sharp  corals, 
bled  also.  The  veins  of  his  forehead  looked  ready 
to  burst,  and  as  he  tightened  the  cords  of  hair  • 
across  them  it  seemed  his  only  salvation. 

I  urged  him  to  desist,  seeing  his  condition  and 
fearing  a  repetition  of  his  first  experience ;  but  he 
would  go  once  more ;  perhaps  there  was  no  pearl 
in  that  shell ;  he  wanted  to  get  me  a  pearl.  He 
sank  again  and  renewed  his  efforts  at  the  bottom 
of  the  sea.  I  scarcely  dared  to  count  the  minutes 
now,  nor  the  bubbles  that  came  up  to  me  like  lit- 
tlo  balloons  with  a  death-message  in  each.  Sup- 
pose he  were  to  send  his  last  breath  in  one  of 
those  transparent  globes,  and  I  look  down  and 
see  his  body  snared  in  the  antlers  of  coral,  stained 
with  his  blood  1  Well,  he  came  up  all  right,  and 
I  postponed  the  rest  of  my  emotion  for  a  later  ex- 
perience. 


PEARL-HUNTING   IN   THE  POMOTOUS.     159 

Some  divers  remain  three  minutes  under  water, 
but  two  or  three  descents  are  as  many  as  they  can 
make  in  a  day.  The  ravages  of  such  a  life  are 
something  frightful. 

.  No  more  pearl-hunting  after  the  second  dive 
that  day ;  nor  the  next,  because  we  went  out  into 
the  air  for  a  stroll  on  shore  to  gather  fruit  and 
stretch  our  legs.  There  was  a  high  wind  and  a 
heavy  sea  that  looked  threatening  enough,  and 
we  were  glad  to  return  after  an  hour's  tramp. 
The  next  day  was  darker,  and  the  next  after  that, 
when  a  gale  came  down  upon  us  that  seemed  likely 
to  swamp  Motu  Hilo.  A  swell  rolled  over  the 
windward  reef  and  made  our  quarters  in  the  grotto 
by  no  means  safe  or  agreeable.  It  was  advisable 
for  us  to  think  of  embarking  upon  that  tempes- 
tuous sea,  or  get  brained  against  the  roof  of  our 
retreat. 

Hua  Maim  looked  troubled,  and  my  heart  sank. 
I  wished  the  pearl  oysters  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sea,  the  Great  Western  back  at  Tahiti,  and  I  loaf- 
ing under  the  green  groves  of  Papeete,  never  more 
to  be  deluded  abroad. 

I  observed  no  visible  changes  in  the  weather 
after  I  had  been  wishing  for  an  hour  and  a  half. 
The  swell  rather  increased  ;  our  frail  canoe  was 
tossed  from  side  to  side  in  imminent  danger  of 
upsetting. 

Now  and  then  a  heavy  roller  entirely  filled  the 
mouth  of  our  cavern,  quite  blinding  us  with  spray; 


160  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

having  spent  its  fury  it  subsided  with  a  concussion 
that  nearly  deafened  us,  and  dragged  us  with  fear- 
ful velocity  toward  the  narrow  mouth  of  the  cave, 
where  we  saved  ourselves  from  being  swept  into 
the  sea  by  grasping  the  roots  overhead  and  within 
reach. 

"  Could  I  swim  1 "  asked  Hua  Manu.  Alas,  no  ! 
That  we  must  seek  new  shelter  at  any  risk  was 
but  too  evident.  "  Let  us  go  on  the  next  wave," 
said  Hua,  as  he  seized  a  large  shell  and  began 
clearing  the  canoe  of  the  water  that  had  accumu- 
lated. Then  he  bound  his  long  hair  in  a  knot  to 
keep  it  from  his  eyes,  and  gave  me  some  hasty  di- 
rections as  to  my  deportment  in  the  emergency. 

The  great  wave  came.  We  were  again  momen- 
tarily corked  up  in  an  air-tight  compartment.  I 
wonder  the  roof  was  not  burst  open  with  the  in- 
tense pressure  that  nearly  forced  the  eyes  out  of  my 
head  and  made  me  faint  and  giddy.  Recovering 
from  the  shock,  with  a  cry  of  warning  from  Hua, 
and  a  prayer  scarcely  articulated,  we  shot  like  a 
bomb  from  a  mortar  into  the  very  teeth  of  a  fright- 
ful gale. 

Nothing  more  was  said,  nothing  seen.  The 
air  was  black  with  flying  spray,  the  roar  of  the 
elements  more  awful  than  anything  1  had  ever 
heard  before.  Sheets  of  water  swept  over  us  with 
such  velocity  that 'they  hummed  like  circular  saws 
in  motion. 

We  were  crouched  as  low  as  possible  in   the 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN  THE  POMOTOUS.    161 

canoe,  yet  now  and  then  one  of  these,  the  very 
Made  of  the  wave,  struck  us  on  the  head  or  shoul- 
ders, cutting  us  like  knives.  I  could  scarcely  dis- 
tinguish Hua's  outline,  the  spray  was  so  dense, 
and  as  for  him,  what  could  he  do  ?  Nothing,  in- 
deed, but  send  up  a  sort  of  death-wail,  a  few  notes 
of  which  tinkled  in  my  ear  from  time  to  time,  as- 
suring me  how  utterly  without  hope  we  were. 

One  of  those  big  rollers  must  have  lifted  us 
clean  over  the  reef,  for  we  crossed  it  and  were 
blown  into  the  open  sea,  where  the  canoe  spun  for 
a  second  in  the  trough  of  the  waves,  and  was  cut 
into  slivers  by  an  avalanche  of  water  that  carried 
us  all  down  into  the  depths. 

I  suppose  I  filled  at  once,  but  came  up  in  spite 
of  it  (almost  every  one  has  that  privilege),  when  T 
was  clutched  by  Hua  Manu  and  made  fast  to  his 
utilitarian  back-hair.  I  had  the  usual  round  of 
experiences  allotted  to  all  half-drowned  people': 
a  panoramic  view  of  my  poor  life  crammed  with 
sin  and  sorrow  and  regret ;  a  complete  biography 
written  and  read  through  inside  of  ten  seconds. 
I  was  half  strangled,  call  it  two  thirds,  for  that 
comes  nearer  the  truth  ;  heard  the  water  singing 
in  my  ears,  which  was  not  sweeter  than  sympho- 
nies, nor  beguiling,  nor  in  the  least  agreeable.  I 
deny  it!  In  the  face  of  every  corpse  that  ever 
was  drowned  I  emphatically  deny  it ! 

Hua  had  nearly  stripped  me  with  one  or  two 


162  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

tugs  at  my  thin  clothing,  because  he  did  n't  think 
that  worth  towing  off  to  some  other  island,  and  he 
was  willing  to  float  me  for  a  day  or  two,  and  run 
the  risk  of  saving  me. 

When  I  began  to  realize  anything,  I  congratu- 
lated myself  that  the  gale  was  over.  The  sky  was 
clear,  the  white  caps  scarce,  but  the  swell  still 
sufficient  to  make  me  dizzy  as  we  climbed  one  big, 
green  hill,  and  slid  off  the  top  of  it  into  a  deep 
and  bubbling  abyss. 

I  found  Hua  leisurely  feeling  his  way  through 
the  water,  perfectly  self-possessed  and  apparently 
unconscious  that  he  had  a  deck  passenger  nearly 
as  big  as  himself.  My  hands  were  twisted  into 
his  hair  in  such  a  way  that  I  could  rest  my  chin 
upon  my  arms,  and  thus  easily  keep  my  mouth 
above  water  most  of  the  time. 

My  emotions  were  peculiar.  I  was  n't  accus- 
tomed to  travelling  in  that  fashion.  1  knew  it  had 
been  done  before.  Even  there  I  thought  with  in- 
finite satisfaction  of  the  Hawaiian  woman  who 
swam  for  forty  hours  in  such  a  sea,  with  an  aged 
and  helpless  husband  upon  her  back.  Reaching 
land  at  last  she  tenderly  drew  her  burden  to  shore 
and  found  him  —  dead  !  The  fact  is  historical, 
and  but  one  of  several  equally  marvellous. 

We  floated  on  and  on,  cheering  each  other  hour 
after  hour ;  the  wind  continuing,  the  sea  falling, 
and  anon  night  coming  like  an  ill  omen,  —  night, 
that  buried  us  alive  in  darkness  and  despair. 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN   THE  POMOTOUS.     163 

I  think  I  must  have  dozed,  or  fainted,  or  died 
several  times  during  the  night,  for  it  began  to 
grow  light  long  before  I  dared  to  look  for  it,  and 
then  came  sunrise, — a  sort  of  intermittent  sunrise 
that  gilded  Hua's  shoulder  whenever  we  got  to  the 
top  of  a  high  wave,  and  went  out  again  as  soon  as 
we  settled  into  the  hollows. 

Hua  Manu's  eyes  were  much  better  than  mine ; 
he  seemed  to  see  with  all  his  five  senses,  and  the 
five  told  him  that  there  was  sand  not  far  off !  I 
would  n't  believe  him  ;  I  think  I  was  excusable  for 
questioning  his  infallibility  then  and  there.  The 
minute  he  cried  out  "  Land  ! "  I  gave  up  and  went 
to  sleep  or  to  death,  for  I  thought  he  was  daft, 
and  it  was  discouraging  business,  and  I  wished  I 
could  die  for  good.  Hua  Manu,  what  a  good  egg 
you  were,  though  it 's  the  bad  that  usually  keep 
atop  of  the  water,  they  tell  me  ! 

Hua  Manu  was  right !  he  walked  out  of  the  sea 
an  hour  later  and  stood  on  a  mound  of  coarse  sand 
in  the  middle  of  the  ocean,  with  my  miserable, 
water-logged  body  lying  in  a  heap  at  his  feet. 

The  place  was  as  smooth  and  shiny  and  desolate 
as  anybody's  bald  head.  That 's  a  nice  spot  to  be 
merry  in,  is  n't  it  1  Yet  he  tried  to  make  me  open 
my  eyes  and  be  glad. 

He  said  he  knew  the  <j}reat  Western  would  be 
coming  down  that  way  shortly  ;  she  'd  pick  us  off 
the  shoal,  and  water  and  feed  us. 


164  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

Perhaps  she  might !  Meantime  we  hungered 
and  thirsted  as  many  a  poor  castaway  had  before 
us.  That  was  a  good  hour  for  Christian  fortitude  : 
beached  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean  ;  shelterless 
under  a  sun  that  blistered  Hua's  tough  skin  ;  eyes 
blinded  with  the  glare  of  sun  and  sea ;  the  sand 
glowing  like  brass  and  burning  into  flesh  already 
irritated  with  salt  water ;  a  tongue  of  leather 
cleaving  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  no  food 
within  reach,  nor  so  much  as  a  drop  of  fresh  water 
for  Christ's  sake  ! 

Down  went  my  face  into  the  burning  sand  that 

made  the  very  air  hop  above  it Another 

night,  cool  and  grateful ;  a  bird  or  two  flapped 
wearily  overhead,  looking  like  spirits  in  the  moon- 
light. Hua  scanned  earnestly  our  narrow  horizon, 
noting  every  inflection  in  the  voices  of  the  wind 
and  waves,  —  voices  audible  to  him,  but  worse  than 
dumb  to  me,  —  mocking  monotones  reiterated 
through  an  agonizing  eternity. 

A  wise  monitor  was  Hua  Manu,  shaming  me  to 
silence  in  our  cursed  banishment.  Toward  the 
morning  after  our  arrival  at  the  shoal,  an  owl 
fluttered  out  of  the  sky  and  fell  at  our  feet  quite 
exhausted.  It  might  have  been  blown  from  Motu 
Hilo,  and  seemed  ominous  of  something,  I  scarcely 
knew  what.  When  it  had  recovered  from  its  fa- 
tigue, it  sat  regarding  us  curiously.  I  wanted  to 
wring  its  short,  thick  neck,  and  eat  it,  feathers  and 
all.  Hua  objected  ;  there  was  a  superstition  that 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN   THE  POMOTOUS.     165 

gave  that  bland  bird  its  life.  It  might  continue 
to  ogle  us  with  one  eye  as  long  as  it  liked.  How 
the  lopsided  thing  smirked  !  how  that  stupid  owl- 
face,  like  a  rosette  with  three  buttons  in  it,  haunt- 
ed me !  It  was  enough  to  craze  any  one  ;  and, 
having  duly  cursed  him  and  his  race,  I  went  stark 
mad  and  hoped  I  was  dying  forever 

There  are  plenty  of  stars  in  this  narrative. 
Stars,  and  plenty  of  them,  cannot  account  for  the 
oblivious  intervals,  suspended  animation,  or  what- 
ever it  was,  that  came  to  my  relief  from  time  to 
time.  I  cannot  account  for  them  myself.  Per- 
haps Hua  Manu  might ;  he  seemed  always  awake, 
always  on  the  lookout,  and  ever  so  patient  and 
painful.  A  dream  came  to  me  after  that  owl  had 
stared  me  into  stone,  —  a  dream  of  an  island  in  a 
sea  of  glass ;  soft  ripples  lapping  on  the  silver 
shores  ;  sweet  airs  sighing  in  a  starlit  grove ;  some 
one  gathering  me  in  his  arms,  hugging  me  close 
with  infinite  tenderness ;  I  was  consumed  with 
thirst,  speechless  with  hunger;  like  an  infant  I 
lay  in  the  embrace  of  my  deliverer,  who  moistened 
my  parched  lips  and  burning  throat  with  delicious 
and  copious  draughts.  It  was  an  elixir  of  life ;  I 
drank  health  and  strength  in  every  drop  ;  sweet- 
er than  mother's  milk  flowed  the  warm  tide  un- 
checked, till  I  was  satisfied  and  sank  into  a  deep 
and  dreamless  sleep 

The  Great  Western  was  plunging  in  her  old 
style,  and  I  swashed  in  my  bunk  as  of  yore.  The 


166  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

captain  sat  by  me  with  a  bottle  in  his  hand  and 
anxiety  in  his  countenance. 

"  Where  are  we  1 "  I  asked. 

"  Two  hours  out  from  Tahiti,  inward  bound." 

"  How  !  What  !  When  !  "  etc.  ;  and  my  mind 
ran  up  and  down  the  record  of  the  last  fortnight, 
finding  many  blots  and  some  blanks. 

"  As  soon  as  I  got  into  my  right  mind  I  ctguld 
hear  all  about  it  " ;  and  the  captain  shook  his  bottle, 
and  held  on  to  the  side  of  my  bunk  to  save  him- 
self from  total  wreck  in  the  lee-corners  of  the 
cabin. 

"  Why,  wasn  't  I  right-minded  1  I  could  tell  a 
hawk  from  a  hernshaw  ;  and,  speaking  of  hawks, 
where  was  that  cursed  owl  ? " 

The  captain  concluded  I  was  bettering,  and  put 
the  physic  into  the  locker,  so  as  to  give  his  whole 
attention  to  keeping  right  side  up.  Well,  this  is 
how  it  happened,  as  I  afterward  learned  :  The 
Great  Western  suffered  somewhat  from  the  gale 
at  Motti  Hilo,  though  she  was  comparatively 
sheltered  in  that  inner  sea.  Having  repaired,  and 
given  me  up  as  a  deserter,  she  sailed  for  Tahiti. 
The  first  day  out,  in  a  light  breeze,  they  all  saw 
a  man  apparently  wading  up  to  his  middle  in  the 
sea.  The  fellow  hailed  the  Great  Western,  but  as 
she  could  hardly  stand  up  against  the  rapid  cur- 
rent in  so  light  a  wind,  the  captain  let  her  drift 
past  the  man  in  the  sea,  who  suddenly  disappeared. 
A  consultation  of  officers  followed.  Evidently 


PEARL-HUNTING  IN    THE  POMOTOUS.     167 

some  one  was  cast  away  and  ought  to  be  looked 
after ;  resolved  to  beat  up  to  the  rock,  big  turtle, 
or  whatever  it  might  be  that  kept  that  fellow 
afloat,  provided  the  wind  freshened  sufficiently  ; 
wind  immediately  freshened  ;  Great  Western  put 
about  and  made  for  the  spot  where  Hua  Manu  had 
been  seen  hailing  the  schooner.  But  when  that 
schooner  passed  he  threw  himself  upon  the  sand 
beside  me  and  gave  up  hoping  at  last,  and  was 
seen  no  more. 

What  did  he  then1?  I  must  have  asked  for 
drink.  He  gave  it  me  from  an  artery  in  his  wrist, 
severed  by  the  finest  teeth  you  ever  saw.  That 's 
what  saved  me.  On  came  the  little  schooner, 
beating  up  against  the  wind  and  tide,  while  I  had 
my  lips  sealed  to  that  fountain  of  life. 

The  skipper  kept  banging  away  with  an  old 
blunderbuss  that  had  been  left  over  in  his  bargains 
with  the  savages,  and  one  of  these  explosions 
caught  the  ears  of  Hua.  He  tore  my  lips  from 
his  wrist,  staggered  to  his  feet,  and  found  help 
close  at  hand.  Too  late  they  gathered  us  up  out 
of  the  deep  and  strove  to  renew  our  strength. 
They  transported  us  to  the  little  cabin  of  the 
schooner,  Hua  Manu,  myself,  and  that  mincing 
owl,  and  swung  off  into  the  old  course.  Probably 
the  Great  Western  never  did  better  sailing  since 
she  came  from  the  stocks  than  that  hour  or  two 
of  beating  that  brought  her  up  to  the  shoal.  She 
seemed  to  be  emulating  it  in  the  home  run,  for  we 


1G8  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

went  bellowing  through  the  sea  in  a  stiff  breeze 
and  the  usual  flood-tide  on  deck. 

I  lived  to  tell  the  tale.  I  should  think  it  mighty 
mean  of  me  not  to  live  after  such  a  sacrifice.  Hua 
Manu  sank  rapidly.  I  must  have  nearly  drained 
his  veins,  but  I  don't  believe  he  regretted  it.  The 
captain  said  when  he  was  dying,  his  faithful  eyes 
were  fixed  on  me.  Unconsciously  I  moved  a  little  ; 
he  smiled,  and  the  soul  went  out  of  him  in  that 
smile,  perfectly  satisfied.  At  that  moment  the 
owl  fled  from  the  cabin,  passed  through  the  hatch- 
way, and  disappeared. 

Hua  Manu  lay  on  the  deck,  stretched  under  a 
sail,  while  I  heard  this.  I  wondered  if  a  whole 
cargo  of  pearls  could  make  me  indifferent  to  his 
loss.  I  wondered  if  there  were  many  truer  and 
braver  than  he  in  Christian  lands.  They  call  him 
a  heathen.  It  was  heathenish  to  offer  up  his  life 
vicariously.  He  might  have  taken  mine  so  easily, 
and  perhaps  have  breasted  the  waves  back  to  his 
own  people,  and  been  feted  and  sung  of  as  the  hero 
he  truly  was. 

Well,  if  he  is  a  heathen,  out  of  my  heart  I  would 
make  a  parable,  its  rubric  bright  with  his  sacrificial 
blood,  its  theme  this  glowing  text :  "  Greater  love 
hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  a  friend." 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  GREAT  NAVIGATOR. 


|  HINK  of  a  sea  and  sky  of  such  even  and 
utter  blueness,  that  any  visible  horizon 
is  out  of  the  question.  In  the  midst  of 
this  pellucid  sphere  the  smallest  of  propellers 
trailing  two  plumes  of  sea-foam,  like  the  tail- 
feathers  of  a  bird  of  paradise,  and  over  it  all  a 
league  of  floating  crape,  —  for  so  seem  the  heavy 
folds  of  smoke  that  hang  above  us. 

Thus  we  pass  out  of  our  long  hours  of  idleness 
in  that  grove  of  eight  thousand  cocoa-palms  by  the 
sea-shore,  —  the  artist  and  I  seeking  to  renew  our 
dolce  far  niehte  in  some  new  forest  of  palms  by 
any  shore  whatever.  Enough  that  it  is  sea-washed, 
and  hath  a  voice  and  an  eternal  song. 

Now  turn  to  the  stone-quarry  darkened  with 
the  groups  of  the  few  faithful  friends  and  many 
islanders.  They  are  so  ready  to  kill  time  in  the 
simplest  manner  ;  why  not  in  staring  our  awkward 
little  steamer  out  of  sight  1 

One  glimpse  of  the  white  handkerchiefs,  flutter- 
ing like  a  low  flight  of  doves,  and  then  with  all  the 
8 


170  SOUTH-SEA    IDYLS. 

sublime  resignation  of  the  confessed  lounger,  we 
await  the  approach  of  twilight  and  the  later  hours 
that  shall  presently  pass  silver-footed  over  this 
tropic  sea. 

Four,  P.  M.,  and  the  roar  of  the  reef  lost  to  us 
voyagers.  The  sun  an  hour  high.  The  steams  of 
dinner  appealing  to  us  through  the  yawning  hatches, 
—  everything  yawning  in  this  latitude,  animate  and 
inanimate,  —  and  the  world  as  hot  as  Tophet.  We 
lie  upon  our  mattresses,  brought  out  of  the  foul 
cabin  into  the  sweet  air,  and  pass  the  night  half 
intoxicated  with  romance  and  cigarettes.  The 
natives  cover  the  deck  of  our  little  craft  in  lazy 
and  laughing  flocks.  Some  of  them  regard  i;s 
tenderly ;  they  are  apt  to  love  at  sight,  though 
Heaven  knows  there  is  little  in  our  untrimmed  ex- 
teriors to  attract  any  one  under  the  stars. 

We  hear,  now  and  then,  the  sharp  click  of  flint 
and  steel,  and  after  it  see  the  flame,  and  close  to 
the  flame  a  dark  face,  grotesque  it  may  be,  like 
an  antique  water-spout  with  dust  in  its  jaws.  Bi  t 
some  are  beautiful,  with  glorious  eyes  that  shine 
wonderfully  in  the  excitement  of  lighting  the  pipe 
anew. 

Voices  arise  at  intervals  from  among  the  groups 
of  younger  voyagers.  We  hear  the  songs  of  our  own 
land  worded  in  oddly  and  rather  prettily  broken 
English.  "  Annie  Laurie,"  "  When  the  Cruel  War  is 
over,"  and  other  equally  ambitious  and  proportion- 
ately popular  ballads  ring  in  good  time  and  tune 


THE  LAST   OF   THE   GREAT  NAVIGATOR.     171 

from  the  lips  of  the  young  bloods,  but  the  girls 
seldom  join  to  any  advantage.  How  strange  it  all 
seems,  and  how  we  listen  ! 

With  the  first  and  deepest  purple  of  the  dawn,  the 
dim  outlines  of  Molokai  arise  before  us.  It  is  an 
island  of  cliffs  and  canons,  much  haunted  of  the 
King,  but  usually  out  of  the  tourist's  guide-book. 

It  is  hinted  one  may  turnback  this  modern  page 
of  island  civilization,  and  with  it  the  half-christian- 
ized and  wholly  bewildered  natures  of  the  uncom- 
prehending natives,  and  here  find  all  of  the  old 
superstitions  in  their  original  significance,  the 
temples,  and  the  shark-god,  and  the  hula-hula  girls, 
beside  whose  weird  and  maddening  undulations 
your  can-can  dancers  are  mere  jumping-jacks. 

Listen  for  faint  music  of  the  wandering  min- 
strels !  No,  we  are  too  far  out  from  shore  :  then 
it  is  the  wrong  end  of  the  day  for  such  festivals. 

A  brief  siesta  under  the  opening  eyelids  of  the 
morn,  and  at  sunrise  we  dip  our  colors  abreast 
charming  little  Lahaina,  drowsy  and  indolent,  with 
its  two  or  three  long,  long  avenues  overhung  with 
a  green  roof  of  leaves,  and  its  odd  summer-houses 
and  hammocks  pitched  close  upon  the  white  edge 
of  the  shore. 

We  wander  up  and  down  these  shady  paths  an 
hour  or  two,  eat  of  the  fruits,  luscious  and  plenti- 
ful, and  drink  of  its  liquors,  vile  and  fortunately 
scarce,  and  get  us  hats  plaited  of  the  coarsest 
straw  and  of  unbounded  rim,  making  ourselves  still 


172  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

more  hideous,  if  indeed  we  have  not  already  reached 
the  acme  of  the  unpicturesque. 

Now  for  hours  and  hours  we  hug  the  shore, 
slowly  progressing  under  the  insufficient  shadow 
of  the  palms,  getting  now  and  then  glimpses  of 
valleys  folded  inland,  said  to  be  lovely  and  mysti- 
cal. Then  there  are  mites  of  villages  always  half- 
grown  and  half-starved  looking,  and  always  close 
to  the  sea.  These  islanders  are  amphibious.  The 
little  bronze  babies  float  like  corks  before  they  can 
walk  half  the  length  of  a  bamboo-mat. 

Another  night  at  sea,  in  the  rough  channel  this 
time,  and  less  enjoyable  for  the  rather  stiff  breeze 
on  our  quarter,  and  some  very  sour-looking  clouds 
overhead.  All  well  by  six,  however,  when  we  hear 
the  Angelus  rung  from  the  low  tower  of  a  long- 
coral  church  in  another  sea-wedded  hamlet.  Think 
of  the  great  barn-like  churches,  once  too  small  for 
the  throngs  that  gathered  about  them,  now  full  of 
echoes,  and  whose  doors,  if  they  still  hang  to  their 
hinges,  will  soon  swing  only  to  the  curious  winds  ! 

In  and  out  by  this  strange  land,  marking  all  its 
curvatures  with  the  fidelity  of  those  shadow  lines 
in  the  atlas,  and  so  lingering  on  till  the  evening 
of  the  second  day,  when,  just  at  sunset,  we  turn 
suddenly  into  the  bay  that  saw  the  last  of  Captain 
Cook,  and  here  swing  at  anchor  in  eight  fathoms 
of  liquid  crystal  over  a  floor  of  shining  white  coral, 
and  clouds  of  waving  sea-moss.  From  the  deck 
behold  the  amphitheatre  wherein  was  enacted  the 


THE  LAST   OF   THE   GREAT  NAVIGATOR      173 

tragedy  of  "  The  Great  Navigator,  or  the  Vulner- 
able god."  The  story  is  brief  and  has  its  moral. 

The  approach  of  Captain  Cook  was  mystical. 
For  generations  the  islanders  had  been  looking  with 
calm  eyes  of  faith  for  the  promised  return  of  a 
certain  god.  Where  should  they  look  but  to  the 
sea,  whence  came  all  mysteries  and  whither  re- 
treated the  being  they  called  divine  ? 

So  the  white  wings  of  the  Resolution  swept  down 
upon  the  life-long  quietude  of  Hawaii  like  a  mes- 
senger from  heaven,  and  the  signal  gun  sent  the 
first  echoes  to  the  startled  mountains  of  the  little 
kingdom. 

They  received  this  Jupiter,  who  carried  his 
thunders  with  him  and  kindled  fires  in  his  mouth. 
He  was  the  first  smoker  they  had  seen,  though 
they  are  now  his  most  devout  apostles.  Showing 
him  all  due  reverence,  he  failed  to  regard  their  cus- 
toms and  traditions,  which  was  surely  ungodlike, 
and  it  rather  weakened  the  faith  of  their  sages. 

A  plot  was  devised  to  test  the  divinity  of  the 
presuming  captain. 

While  engaged  in  conversation,  one  of  the  chiefs 
was  to  rush  at  Cook  with  a  weapon  ;  should  he  cry 
out  or  attempt  to  run,  he  was  no  god,  for  the  gods 
are  fearless ;  and  if  he  was  no  god,  he  deserved 
death  for  his  deception.  But  if  a  god,  no  harm 
could  come  of  it,  for  the  gods  are  immortal. 

So  they  argued,  and  completed  their  plans.  It 
came  to  pass  in  the  consummation  of  them  that 


174  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

Cook  did  run,  and  thereupon  received  a  stab  in  the 
back.  Being  close  by  the  shore  he  fell  face  down- 
ward in  the  water  and  died  a  half-bloody,  half- 
watery,  and  wholly  inglorious  death.  His  com- 
panions escaped  to  the  ship  and  peppered  the 
Tillages  by  the  harbor,  till  the  inhabitants,  half 
frantic,  were  driven  into  the  hills. 

Then  they  put  to  sea,  leaving  the  body  of  their 
commander  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  with 
flag  at  half-mast  were  blown  sullenly  back  to  Eng- 
land, there  to  inaugurate  the  season  of  poems, 
dirges,  and  pageants  in  honor  of  the  Great  Navi- 
gator. 

His  bones  were  stripped  of  flesh,  afterwards 
bound  with  kapa,  the  native  cloth,  and  laid  in  one 
of  the  hundred  natural  cells  that  perforate  the 
cliff  in  front  of  us,  and  under  whose  shadow  we 
now  float.  Which  of  the  hundred  is  the  one  so 
honored  is  quite  uncertain.  What  does  it  matter, 
so  long  as  the  whole  mountain  is  a  catacomb  of 
kings  1  No  commoners'  are  buried  there.  It  was 
a  kind  and  worthy  impulse  that  could  still  venerate 
so  far  the  mummy  of  an  idol  of  such  palpable  clay 
as  his. 

Many  of  these  singular  caverns  are  almost  in- 
accessible. One  must  climb  down  by  ropes  from 
the  cliff  above.  Rude  bars  of  wood  are  laid  across 
the  mouths  of  some  of  them.  It  is  the  old  tabu 
never  yet  broken.  But  a  few  years  back  it  was 
braving  death  to  attempt  to  remove  them. 


THE  LAST   OF    THE   GREAT  NAVIGATOR.     175 

Cook's  flesh  was  most  likely  burned.  It  was 
then  a  custom.  But  his  heart  was  left  untouched 
of  the  flames  of  this  sacrifice.  What  a  salamander 
the  heart  is  that  can  withstand  the  fires  of  a  judg- 
ment ! 

The  story  of  this  heart  is  the  one  shocking  page 
in  this  history  :  some  children  discovered  it  after- 
ward, and,  thinking  it  the  -  offal-  of  an  animal,  de- 
voured it.  Whoever  affirms  that  the  "  Sandwich- 
Islanders  eat  each  other,"  has  at  least  this  ground 
for  his  affirmation.  Natives  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands  have  been  driven  as  far  north  as  this  in 
their  frail  canoes.  They  were  cannibals,  and  no 
doubt  were  hungry,  and  may  have  eaten  in  their 
fashion,  but  it  is  said  to  have  been  an  acquired 
taste,  and  was  not  at  all  popular  in  this  region. 
Dramatic  justice  required  some  tragic  sort  of  re- 
venge, and  this  was  surely  equal  to  the  emergency. 

Our  advance  guard,  in  the  shape  of  a  month- 
earlier  tourist,  gave  us  the  notes  for  doing  this 
historical  nook  in  the  Pacific.  A  turned-down 
page,  it  is  perhaps  a  little  too  dog-eared  to  be  read 
over  again,  but  we  all  like  to  compare  notes.  So 
we  noted  the  items  of  the  advance  guard,  and  they 
read  in  this  fashion  :  — 

OBJECTS     OF     INTEREST     RELATING     TO 
CAPTAIN   COOK. 

Item     I.    The  tree  where  Cook  was  struck. 
"       II.    The  rock  where  Cook  fell. 


176  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

Item  III.  The  altar  on  the  hill-top. 

"  IV.  The  riven  palms. 

"  V.  The  sole  survivor,  — the  boy  that  ran. 

"  VI.  A  specimen  sepulchre  in  the  cliff. 


Until  dark  the  native  children  have  been  play- 
ing about  us  in  the  sea,  diving  for  very  smooth 
"rials,"  and  looking  much  as  frogs  must  look 
to  wandering  lilliputians.  The  artist  cares  less 
for  these  wild  and  graceful  creatures  than  one 
would  suppose,  for  he  confesses  them  equal  in 
physical  beauty  to  the  Italian  models.  All  senti- 
ment seemed  to  have  been  dragged  out  of  him  by 
much  travel.  At  night  we  sit  together  on  the 
threshold  of  our  grass  house,  and  not  twenty  feet 
from  the  rock  —  under  water  only  at  high  tide  — 
where  Cook  died.  We  sit  talking  far  into  the 
night,  with  the  impressive  silence  broken  only  by 
the  plash  of  the  sea  at  our  very  door. 

By  and  by  the  moon  looks  down  upon  us  from 
the  sepulchre  of  the  kings.  We  are  half  clad,  having 
adopted  the  native  costume  as  the  twilight  deep- 
ened and  our  modesty  permitted.  The  heat  is 
still  excessive.  All  this  low  land  was  made  to 
God's  order  some  few  centuries  ago.  We  wonder 
if  He  ever  changes  his  rnind  ;  this  came  down  red- 
hot  from  the  hills  yonder,  and  cooled  at  high- 
water  mark.  It  holds  the  heat  like  an  oven-brick, 
and  we  find  it  almost  impossible  to  walk  upon  it  at 
noontime,  even  our  sole-leather  barely  preserving 


•   THE  LAST  OF  THE  GREAT  NAVIGATOR.  177 

our  feet  from  its  blistering  surface.  The  natives 
manage  to  hop  over  it  now  and  then ;  they  are  about 
half  leather,  anyhow,  and  the  other  half  appetite. 

We  come  first  upon  No.  II.  in  the  list  of  his- 
toric haunts. 

Let  us  pass  down  to  the  rock,  and  cool  ourselves 
in  the  damp  moss  that  drapes  it.  It  is  almost  as 
large  as  a  dinner-table,  and  as  level.  You  can 
wade  all  around  it,  count  a  hundred  little  crabs 
running  up  and  down  over  the  top  of  it.  So  much 
for  one  object  of  interest,  and  the  artist  draws  his 
pencil  through  it.  At  ten,  p.  M.,  we  are  still 
chatting,  and  have  added  a  hissing  pot  of  coffee 
over  some  live  coals  to  our  housekeeping.  Now 
down  a  little  pathway  at  our  right  comes  a  native 
woman,  with  a  plump  and  tough  sort  of  pillow 
under  each  arm.  These  she  implores  us  to  receive 
and  be  comfortable.  We  refuse  to  be  comforted 
in  this  fashion,  we  despise  luxuries,  and  in  true 
cosmopolitan  independence  hang  our  heads  over 
our  new  saddle-trees,  and  sleep  heavily  in  an  at- 
mosphere rank  with  the  odor  of  fresh  leather ;  but 
not  till  we  have  seen  our  humane  visitor  part  of 
the  way  home.  Back  by  the  steep  and  winding 
path  we  three  pass  in  silence.  She  pauses  a  mo- 
ment in  the  moonlight  at  what  seems  a  hitching- 
post  cased  in  copper.  It  is  as  high  as  our  hip,  and 
has  some  rude  lettering  apparently  scratched  with 
a  nail  upon  it.  We  decipher  with  some  difficulty 
this  legend  :  — 

8*  L 


178  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 


Near  this  spot 

fell 
CAPTAIN  JAMES    COOK,   R.   N., 

the 
Renowned  Circumnavigator, 

who 

discovered  these  islands, 
A.  D.  1778. 

His  Majesty's  Ship 

Imogene, 
Oct.  17,  1837. 


So  No.  I.  of  our  list  is  checked  off',  and  no  lives 
lost. 

"Aloha  /"  cries  a  soft  voice  in  the  distance.  Our 
native  woman  has  left  us  in  our  pursuit  of  knowl- 
edge under  difficulties,  and  now  there  is  no  visi- 
ble trace  of  her  and  her  pillows,  —  only  that  voice 
out  of  the  darkness  crying,  "Love  to  you  ! "  She 
lives  in  memory,  —  this  warm-hearted  Waihine ; 
so  do  her  pillows. 

Returning  to  our  lodgings,  we  discover  a  square 
heap  of  broken  lava  rocks.  It  seems  to  be  the 
foundation  for  some  building ;  and  such  it  is,  for 
here  the  palace  of  Kamehameha  I.  stood,  —  a  palace 
of  grass  like  this  one  we  are  sleeping  in.  Nothing 
but  the  foundation  remains  now.  Half  a  dozen 
rude  stairs  invite  the  ghosts  of  the  departed  cour- 
tiers to  this  desolate  ruin. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  GREAT  NAVIGATOR.     179 

They  are  all  Samaritans  in  this  kingdom.  By 
sunrise  a  boy  with  fresh  coffee  and  a  pail  of  muffins 
rides  swiftly  to  our  door.  He  came  from  over  the 
hill.  Our  arrival  had  been  reported,  and  we  are 
summoned  to  a  late  breakfast  in  the  manner  of  the 
Christians.  We  are  glad  of  it.  Our  fruit  diet  of 
yesterday,  the  horrors  of  a  night  in  the  saddle  —  a 
safe  and  pretty  certain  mode  of  dislocating  the 
neck  —  make  us  yearn  for  a  good  old-fashioned 
meal.  Horses  are  at  our  service.  We  mount 
after  taking  our  muffins  arid  coffee  in  the  centre  of 
a  large  and  enthusiastic  gathering  of  villagers. 
They  came  to  see  us  eat,  and  to  fumble  the  artist's 
sketches,  and  wonder  at  his  amazing  skill. 

Up  the  high  hill  with  the  jolliest  sun  shining  full 
in  our  eyes,  brushing  the  heavy  and  dew-filled 
foliage  on  both  sides  of  the  trail,  and  under  the 
thick  webs  spun  in  the  upper  branches,  looking 
like  silver  laces  this  glorious  morning,  —  on,  till 
we  reach  the  hill-top. 

Here  the  guide  pauses  and  points  his  horse's 
nose  toward  a  rude  corral.  The  horses  seem  to 
regard  it  from  habit,  —  we  scarcely  with  curiosity. 
A  wall  half  in  ruins  in  the  centre,  rising  from 
a  heap  of  stones  tumbled  together,  a  black,  weath- 
er-stained cross,  higher  than  our  heads  as  we  sit 
in  the  saddle.  It  is  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  It  is 
here  that  the  heart  of  the  great  navigator  survived 
the  flames. 

No.  III.  scored  off.     At  this  rate  we  shall  finish 


180  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

by  noon  easily.  The  sequel  of  an  adventurous 
life  is  soon  told. 

After  breakfast,  to  horse  again,  and  back  to  the 
little  village  by  the  sea.  We  ride  into  a  cluster 
of  palms,  our  guide  leading  the  way,  and  find  two 
together,  each  with  a  smooth  and  perfectly  round 
hole  through  its  body,  about  three  feet  from  the 
roots,  made  by  the  shot  of  Cook's  avengers.  A 
lady  could  barely  thrust  her  hand  through  them  ; 
they  indicate  rather  light  calibre  for  defence  now- 
adays, but  enough  to  terrify  these  little  villages, 
when  Cook's  men  sent  the  balls  hissing  over  the 
water  to  bite  through  the  grit  and  sap  of  these 
slender  shafts.  They  still  live  to  tell  the  tale  in 
their  way.  So  much  for  No.  IV. 

We  pause  again  in  the  queer  little  straggling 
alleys  of  the  village,  planned,  I  should  think,  after 
some  spider's  web.  They  are  about  as  regular  in 
their  irregularity.  It  is  No.  V.  this  time.  A  bit 
of  withered  humanity  doubled  up  in  the  sun,  as 
though  some  one  had  set  him  up  on  that  wall  to 
bake.  He  is  drawn  all  together ;  his  chin  sunk  in 
between  his  knees,  his  knees  hooped  together  with 
his  dreadfully  slim  arms,  a  round  head,  sleek  arid 
shining  as  an  oiled  gourd  ;  sans  teeth ;  eyes  like 
the  last  drops  in  desert  wells  ;  the  skeleton  sharp- 
ly protruding ;  no  motion  ;  apparently  no  life  be- 
yond the  quick  and  incessant  blinking  of  the 
eyelids,  —  the  curtains  fluttering  in  the  half-shut 
windows  of  the  soul.  Is  it  a  man  and  a  brother  ? 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  GREAT  NAVIGATOR.  181 

Yes,  verily  !  When  the  uncaptured  crew  of  the 
Resolution  poured  their  iron  shot  into  the  tents  of 
the  adversary,  this  flickering  life  was  young  and 
vigorous,  and  he  ran  like  a  good  fellow.  Better 
to  have  died  in  his  fiery  youth  than  to  have  slowly 
withered  away  in  this  fashion.  For  here  is  the 
philosophy  of  mammon  left  to  itself:  when  you 
get  to  be  an  old  native,  it  is  your  business  to  die  ; 
if  you  don't  know  your  business,  you  are  left  to 
find  it  out  :  what  are  you  good  for  but  to  bury  1 

Let  us  slip  over  the  smooth  bay,  for  we  must 
look  into  one  of  these  caverns.  Cross  in  this 
canoe,  so  narrow  that  we  cannot  get  into  it  at  all, 
but  balance  ourself  on  its  rim  and  hold  our 
breath  for  fear  of  upsetting.  These  odd-looking 
out-riggers  are  honest  enough  in  theory,  but 
treacherous  in  practice ;  and  a  shark  has  his  eye 
on  us  back  yonder.  Sharks  are  mesmeric  in  their 
motions  through  the  water,  and  corpse-colored. 

A  new  guide  helps  us  to  the  most  easily  reached 
cave,  and  with  the  lad  and  his  smoking  torch  we 
climb  into  the  dusky  mouth. 

There  is  dust  everywhere  and  cobwebs  as  thick 
as  cloth,  hanging  in  tatters.  An  almost  intermi- 
nable series  of  small  cells,  just  high  enough  to 
straighten  one's  back  in,  leads  us  farther  and  far- 
ther into  the  mountain  of  bones.  This  cave  has 
been  pillaged  too  often  to  be  very  ghostly  now. 
We  find  a  little  parcel  of  bones  here.  It  might 
have  been  a  hand  and  an  arm  once,  cunning  and 


182  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

dexterous.  It  is  nothing  now  but  a  litter.  Here 
is  an  infant's  skull,  but  broken,  thin  and  delicate 
as  a  sea-shell,  and  full  of  dust.  Here  is  a  tougher 
one,  whole  and  solid ;  the  teeth  well  set  and  very 
white ;  no  sign  of  decay  in  any  one  of  these  molars. 
Perhaps  it  is  because  so  little  of  their  food  is  even 
warm  when  they  eat  it.  This  rattles  as  we  lift  it. 
The  brain  and  the  crumbs  of  earth  are  inseparably 
wedded.  Come  with  us,  skull.  You  look  scholar- 
ly, and  shall  lie  upon  our  desk,  —  a  solemn  epistle 
to  the  living.  But  the  cave  is  filled  with  the  vile 
smoke  of  our  torch,  and  we  are  choked  with  the 
heat  and  dust.  Let  us  out  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble. The  Great  Navigator's  skeleton  cannot  be 
hidden  in  this  tomb.  Down  we  scramble  into  the 
sand  and  shadow  by  the  water,  and  talk  of  depart- 
ing out  of  this  place  of  relics. 

We  are  to  cross  the  lava  southward  where  it  is 
frescoed  with  a  wilderness  of  palm-trees  :  for  when 
the  mountain  came  down  to  the  sea,  flowing  red- 
hot,  but  cooling  almost  instantly,  it  mowed  down 
the  forests  of  palms,  and  the  trunks  were  not  con- 
sumed, but  lay  half  buried  in  the  cooling  lava,  and 
now  you  can  mark  every  delicate  fibre  of  the  bark 
in  the  lava,  as  firm  as  granite. 

Still  farther  south  lies  the  green  slope  that  was 
so  soon  to  be  shaken  to  its  foundations.  I  wonder 
if  we  could  discover  any  of  the  peculiar  loveliness 
that  bewitched  us  the  evening  we  crossed  it  in 
silence.  There  was  something  in  the  air  that 


THE  LAST   OF   THE   GREAT  NAVIGATOR.     183 

said,  "  Peace,  peace "  ;  and  we  passed  over  the 
fatal  spot  without  speaking.  But  the  sea  spoke 
under  the  cliffs  below  us,  and  the  mountain  has 
since  replied. 

This  place  is  named  prettily,  Kealekakua. 
You  sea  that  mountain  1  There  are  paths  leading 
to  it.  Thither  the  gods  journeyed  in  the  days  of 
old.  So  the  land  is  called  u  the  path  of  the  gods." 

It  is  a  cool,  green  spot  up  yonder ;  the  rain 
descends  upon  it  in  continual  baptism.  The 
natives  love  these  mountains  and  the  sea.  They 
are  the  cardinal  points  of  their  compass.  Every 
direction  given  you  is  either  toward  the  mountain 
or  toward  the  sea. 

There  is  much  truth  in  the  Arabian  tale,  and  it 
is  time  to  acknowledge  it.  Mountains  are  mag- 
netic. The  secret  of  their  magnetism  may  lie 
in  the  immobility  of  their  countenances.  Praise 
them  to  their  face,  and  they  are  not  flattered ; 
forget  them  for  a  moment :  but  turn  again,  and 
see  their  steadfast  gaze  !  You  feel  their  earnest- 
ness. It  is  imposing,  and  you  cannot  think  light- 
ly of  it.  Who  forgets  the  mountains  he  has  once 
seen  ?  It  is  quite  probable  the  mountain  cares 
little  for  your  individuality  :  but  it  has  given  part 
of  itself  to  the  modelling  of  your  character ;  it 
lias  touched  you  with  the  wand  of  its  enchant- 
ment ;  you  are  under  the  spell.  Somewhere  in 
the  recesses  of  this  mountain  are  locked  the  bones 
of  the  Great  Navigator,  but  these  mountains  have 
kept  the  secret. 


A  CANOE -CRUISE    IN   THE   CORAL   SEA. 


F  you  can  buy  a  canoe  for  two  calico 
shirts,  what  will  your  annual  expenses  in 
Tahiti  amount  to  1  This  was  a  mental 
problem  I  concluded  to  solve,  and,  having  invested 
my  two  shirts,  I  began  the  solution  in  this  wise  : 
My  slender  little  treasure  lay  with  half  its  length 
on  shore,  and,  being  quite  big  enough  for  two,  I 
looked  about  me,  seeking  some  one  to  sit  in  the 
bows,  for  company  and  ballast. 

Up  and  down  the  shady  beach  of  Papeete  I 
wandered,  with  this  advertisement  written  all  over 
my  anxious  face  :  — 

"WANTED  —  A  crew  about  ten  years  of  age;  of  a  mild 
disposition,  and  with  no  special  fondness  for  human  flesh  ; 
not  particular  as  to  sex  !  Apply  immediately,  at  the  new 
canoe,  under  the  breadfruit-tree,  Papeete,  South  Pacific." 

Some  young  things  were  pitching  French  coppers 
so  earnestly  they  did  n't  read  my  face  ;  some 
were  not  seafaring,  at  that  moment ;  while  most 
of  them  evidently  ate  more  than  was  good  for 
them,  which  might  result  disastrously  in  a  canoe- 
cruise,  and  I  set  my  heart  against  them.  The 


A    CANOE-CRUISE  IN  THE  CORAL  SEA.     185 

afternoon  was  waning,  and  my  ill-luck  seemed  to 
urge  upon  me  the  necessity  of  my  constituting  a 
temporary  press-gang  for  the  kidnapping  of  the  re- 
quired article. 

"  Who  is  anxious  to  go  to  sea  with  me  1 "  I 
bawled,  returning  through  the  crowds  of  young 
gamblers,  all  intently  disinterested  in  everything 
but  "  pitch  and  toss."  Not  far  away  a  group  of 
wandering  minstrels  —  such  as  make  musical  the 
shores  of  Tahiti  —  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  street, 
chanting.  One  youth  played  with  considerable 
skill  upon  a  joint  of  bamboo,  of  the  flute  species, 
but  breathed  into  from  the  nostrils,  instead  of  the 
lips.  Three  or  four  minor  notes  were  piped  at  un- 
certain intervals,  playing  an  impromptu  variation 
upon  the  air  of  the  singers.  Drawing  near,  the 
music  was  suspended,  and  I  proposed  shipping  one 
of  the  melodious  vagabonds,  whereupon  the  entire 
chorus  expressed  a  willingness  to  accompany  me, 
in  any  capacity  whatever,  remarking,  at  the  same 
time,  that  "  they  were  a  body  bound,  so  to  speak, 
by  chords  of  harmony,  and  any  proposal  to  disband 
them  would,  by  it,  be  regarded  as  highly  absurd." 
Then  I  led  the  solemn  procession  of  volunteers 
to  my  canoe,  and  we  regarded  it  in  silence ;  it  was 
something  larger  than  a  pea-pod,  to  be  sure,  but 
about  the  shape  of  one.  After  a  moment  of  delib- 
eration, during  which  a  great  throng  of  curious 
spectators  had  assembled,  the  orchestra  declared 
itself  in  readiness  to  ship  before  the  paddle  for 


186  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

the  trifling  consideration  of  $  17.  I  knew  the 
vague  notion  that  money  is  money,  call  it  dollar 
or  dime,  generally  entertained  by  the  innocent 
children  of  Nature ;  and,  dazzling  the  unaccus- 
tomed eyes  of  the  flutist  with  a  new  two-franc 
piece,  he  immediately  embarked.  The  bereaved 
singers  sat  on  the  shore  and  lifted  up  their  voices 
in  resounding  discord,  as  the  canoe  slid  off  into  the 
still  waters,  and  my  crew,  with  commendable 
fortitude,  laid  down  the  nose-flute,  took  up  the 
paddle,  and  we  began  our  canoe-cruise. 

The  frail  thing  glided  over  the  waves  as  though 
invisible  currents  were  sweeping  her  into  the  here- 
after :  the  shore  seemed  to  recede,  drawing  the 
low,  thatched  houses  into  deeper  shadow ;  other 
canoes  skimmed  over  the  sea,  like  great  water- 
bugs,  while  the  sun  set  beyond  the  sharp  outlines 
of  beautiful  Morea,  glorifying  it  and  us. 

There  was  a  small  islet  not  far  away,  —  an 
islet  as  fair  and  fragrant  as  a  bouquet,  —  look- 
ing, just  then,  like  a  mote  in  a  sheet  of  flame. 
Thither  I  directed  the  reformed  flutist,  and  then 
let  myself  relapse  into  the  all-embracing  quietness 
that  succeeds  nearly  every  vexation  that  flesh  is 
heir  to. 

There  was  something  soothing  in  the  nature  of 
my  crew.  He  sat  with  his  back  to  me,  —  a  brown 
back,  that  glistened  in  the  sun,  and  arched  itself, 
from  time  to  time,  cat-like,  as  though  it  was  very 
good  to  be  brown  and  bare  and  shiny.  From  the  waist 


A   CANOE-CRUISE  IN   THE   CORAL  SEA.     187 

to  the  feet  fell  the  resplendent  folds  o£&pareu,  worn 
by  all  Tahitians,  of  every  possible  age  and  sex, 
and  consisted,  in  this  case,  of  a  thin  breadth  of 
cloth,  stamped  with  a  deep  blue  firmament,  in 
which  supernaturally  yellow  suns  were  perpetually 
setting  in  several  spots.  A  round  head  topped 
his  chubby  shoulders,  and  was  shaven  from  the 
neck  to  the  crown,  with  a  matted  forelock  of  the 
blackness  of  darkness  falling  to  the  eyes  and  keep- 
in^  the  sun  out  of  them.  One  ear  was  enlivened 

o 

with  a  crescent  of  beaten  gold,  which  decoration, 
having  been  won  at  "  pitch  and  toss,"  will  prob- 
ably never  again,  in  the  course  of  human  events, 
meet  with  its  proper  mate.  On  the  whole,  he 
looked  just  a  little  bit  like  a  fan-tail  pigeon  with 
its  wings  plucked. 

At  this  point  my  crew  suddenly  rose  in  the 
bows  of  the  canoe,  making  several  outlandish 
flourishes  with  his  broad  paddle.  I  was  about  to 
demand  the  occasion  of  his  sudden  insanity,  when 
we  began  to  grate  over  some  crumbling  substance 
that  materially  impeded  our  progress  and  suggest- 
ed all  sorts  of  disagreeable  sensations,  —  such  as 
knife-grinding  in  the  next  yard,  saw-filing  round 
the  corner,  etc.  It  wa.s  as  though  we  were  career- 
ing madly  over  a  multitude  of  fine-tooth  combs. 
With  that  caution  which  is  inseparable  from  canoe- 
cruising  in  every  part  of  the  known  world,  I  leaned 
over  the  side  of  my  personal  property  and  pene- 
trated the  bewildering  depths  of  the  coral  sea. 


188  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

Were  we,  I  asked  myself,  suspended  about  two 
feet  above  a  garden  of  variegated  cauliflowers  1  Or 
were  the  elements  wafting  us  over  a  minute  winter- 
forest,  whose  fragile  boughs  were  loaded  with 
prismatic  crystals  1 

The  scene  was  constantly  changing :  now  it 
seemed  a  disordered  bed  of  roses,  —  pink,  and 
white,  and  orange  ;  presently  we  were  floating  in 
the  air,  looking  down  upon  a  thousand-domed 
mosque,  pale  in  the  glamour  of  the  Oriental  moon  ; 
and  then  a  wilderness  of  bowers  presented  itself,  — 
bowers  whose  fixed  leaves  still  seemed  to  quiver  in 
the  slight  ripple  of  the  sea,  —  blossoming  for  a 
moment  in  showers  of  buds,  purple,  and  green,  and 
gold,  but  fading  almost  as  soon  as  born.  I  could 
scarcely  believe  my  eyes,  when  these  tiny,  though 
marvellously  brilliant  fish  shot  suddenly  out  from 
some  lace-like  structure,  each  having  the  lurid  and 
flame-like  beauty  of  sulphurous  fire,  and  all  turn- 
ing instantly,  in  sudden  consternation  at  finding 
us  so  near,  and  secreting  themselves  in  the  coral 
pavilion  that  amply  sheltered  them.  Among  the 
delicate  anatomy  of  these  frozen  ferns  our  light 
canoe  was  crashing  on  its  way.  I  saw  the  fragile 
structures  overwhelmed  with  a  single  blow  from 
the  young  savage,  who  stood  erect,  propelling  us 
onward  amid  the  general  ruins.  With  my  thumb 
and  finger  I  annihilated  the  laborious  monuments 
of  centuries,  and  saw  havoc  and  desolation  in  our 
wake. 


A   CANOE-CRUISE  IN   THE  CORAL  SEA.     189 

There,  in  one  of  God's  reef-walled  and  cliff-shel- 
tered aquaria,  we  drifted,  while  the  sky  and  sea  were 
glowing  with  the  final,  triumphant  gush  of  sunset 
radiance.  Fefe  at  last  broke  the  silence,  with  an 
interrogation  :  "  Well,  how  you  feel  1 "  "  Fefe,"  I 
replied,  "  I  feel  as  though  I  were  some  good  and 
faithful  bee,  sinking  into  a  sphere  of  amber,  for  a 
sleep  of  a  thousand  years."  Fefe  gave  a  deep- 
mouthed  and  expressive  grunt,  as  he  laid  his 
brown  profile  against  the  sunset  sky,  thereby  dis- 
playing his  solitary  ear-ring  to  the  best  advantage, 
and  with  evident  personal  satisfaction.  "  And  how 
do  you  feel,  Fefe  1 "  I  asked.  He  was  mum  for  a 
moment ;  arched  his  back  like  any  wholesome 
animal  when  the  sun  has  struck  clean  through  it ; 
ejaculated  an  ejaculation  with  his  tongue  and  teeth 
that  cannot  possibly  be  spelled  in  English,  and 
thereupon  his  nostril  quivered  spasmodically,  and 
was  only  comforted  by  the  immediate  application 
of  his  nose-flute,  through  which  dulcet  organ  he 
confessed  his  deep  and  otherwise  unutterable  joy. 
I  blessed  him  for  it,  though  there  were  but  three 
notes,  all  told,  and  those  minors  and  a  trifle  flat. 

Fefe's  impassioned  soul  having  subsided,  we  both 
looked  over  to  beautiful  Morea,  nine  miles  away. 
How  her  peaks  shone  like  steel,  and  her  valleys 
looked  full  of  sleep  !  while  here  and  there  one 
golden  ray  lingered  for  a  moment  to  put  the  final 
touch  to  a  fruit  it  was  ripening  or  a  flower  it  was 
painting,  —  for  they  each  have  their  perfect  work 


190  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

allotted  to  them,  and  they  don't  leave  it  half  com- 
pleted. 

It  was  just  the  hour  that  harmonizes  every- 
thing in  nature,  and  when  there  is  no  possible  dis- 
cord in  all  the  universe.  The  fishes  were  baptiz- 
ing themselves  by  immersion  in  space,  and  kept 
leaping  into  the  air,  like  momentary  inches  of 
chain  -  lightning.  Our  islet  swam  before  us, 
spiritualized,  —  suspended,  as  it  were,  above  the 
sea,  —  ready  at  any  moment  to  fade  away.  The 
waves  had  ceased  beating  upon  the  reef ;  the  clear, 
low  notes  of  a  bell  vibrating  from  the  shore  called 
us  to  prayer.  Fefe  knew  it,  and  was  ready,  —  so  was 
I ;  and  with  bare  heads  and  souls  utterly  at  peace 
we  gave  our  hearts  to  God  —  for  the  time  being  ! 

Then  came  the  hum  of  voices  and  the  rustle  of 
renewed  life.  On  we  pressed  towards  our  islet, 
under  the  increasing  shadows  of  the  dusk.  A 
sloping  beach  received  us  ;  the  young  cocoa-palms 
embraced  one  another  with  fringed  branches. 
Through  green  and  endless  corridors  we  saw  the 
broad  disk  of  the  full  moon  hanging  above  the  hill. 

Fefe  at  once  chose  a  palm,  and  having  ascended 
to  its  summit  cast  down  its  fruit.  Descending, 
he  planted  a  stake  in  the  earth,  and  striking  a  nut 
against  its  sharpened  top  soon  laid  open  the 
fibrous  husk,  with  which  a  fire  was  kindled. 

Taking  two  peeled  nuts  in  his  hands,  he  struck 
one  against  the  other  and  laid  open  the  skull  of  it, 
—  a  clear  sort  of  scalping  that  aroused  me  to 


A    CANOE-CRUISE  IN   THE  CORAL  SEA.     191 

enthusiasm.  There  is  one  end  of  a  cocoa-nut's 
skull  as  delicate  as  a  baby's,  and  a  well-directed  tap 
does  the  business ;  possibly  the  same  result  would 
follow  with  those  of  infants  of  the  right  age,  — 
twins,  for  instance.  Fefe  agrees  with  me  in  this 
theory,  now  first  given  to  the  public. 

Then  followed  much  talk,  on  many  topics,  over 
our  tropical  supper,  —  said  supper  consisting  of 
sea-weed  salad,  patent  self-stuffing  banana-sausages, 
and  cocoa-nut  hash.  We  argued  somewhat,  also, 
but  in  South  Pacific  fashion,  —  which  would  surely 
spoil,  if  imported ;  I  only  remember,  and  will  re- 
cord, that  Fefe  regarded  the  nose-flute  as  a  tri- 
umph of  art,  and  considered  himself  no  novice  in 
musical  science,  as  applicable  to  nose-flutes  in  a 
land  where  there  is  scarcely  a  nose  without  its 
particular  flute,  and  many  a  flute  is  silent  forever, 
because  its  special  nose  is  laid  among  the  dust. 

Having  eaten,  I  proposed  sleeping  on  the  spot, 
and  continuing  the  cruise  at  dawn.  "  Why  should 
we  return  to  the  world  and  its  cares,  when  the  sea 
invites  us  to  its  isles  1  Nature  will  feed  us.  In 
that  blest  land,  clothing  has  not  yet  been  dis- 
covered. Let  us  away  !  "  I  cried.  At  this  junc- 
ture, voices  came  over  the  sea  to  us,  —  voices 
chanting  like  sirens  upon  the  shore.  Instinctive- 
ly Fefe's  nose-flute  resumed  its  tremolo,  and  I 
knew  the  day  was  lost.  "  Come  !  "  said  the  little 
rascal,  as  though  he  were  captain  and  I  the  crew, 
and  he  dragged  me  toward  the  skiff.  With  terrific 


192  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

emphasis,  I  commanded  him  to  desist.  "  Don't 
imagine,"  I  said,  "  that  this  is  a  modern  Bounty, 
and  that  it  is  your  duty  to  rise  up  in  mutiny  for 
the  sake  of  dramatic  justice.  Nature  never  repeats 
herself,  therefore  come  back  to  camp !  " 

But  he  would  n't  come.  I  knew  I  should  lose 
my  canoe  unless  I  followed,  or  should  have  to 
paddle  back  alone,  —  no  easy  task  for  one  unaccus- 
tomed to  it.  So  I  moodily  embarked  with  him ; 
and  having  pushed  off  into  deep  water,  he  sounded 
a  note  of  triumph  that  was  greeted  with  shouts  on 
shore,  and  I  felt  that  my  fate  was  sealed. 

It  had  been  my  life-dream  to  bid  adieu  to  the 
human  family,  with  one  or  two  exceptions ;  to 
sever  every  tie  that  bound  me  to  anything  under 
the  sun  ;  to  live  close  to  Nature,  trusting  her,  and 
getting  trusted  by  her. 

I  explained  all  this  to  the  young  "  Kanack," 
who  was  in  a  complete  state  of  insurrection,  but 
failed  to  subdue  him.  Overhead  the  air  was 
flooded  with  hazy  moonlight ;  the  sea  looked  like 
one  immeasurable  drop  of  quicksilver,  and  upon 
the  summit  of  this  luminous  sphere  our  shallop 
was  mysteriously  poised.  A  faint  wind  was  breath- 
ing over  the  ocean ;  Fefe  erected  his  paddle  in  the 
bows,  placed  against  it  a  broad  mat  that  constitut- 
ed part  of  my  outfit  for  that  new  life  of  which  I 
was  defrauded,  and  on  we  sped  like  a  belated  sea- 
bird  seeking  its  mossy  nest. 

Beneath  us  slept   the   infinite  creations  of  an- 


A    CANOE-CRUISE  IN  THE   CORAL  SEA.    193 

other  world,  gleaming  from  the  dark  bosom  of  the 
sea  with  an  unearthly  pallor,  and  seeming  to  re- 
veal something  of  the  forbidden  mysteries  that  lie 
beyond  the  grave.  "  La  Petite  Pologne,"  whis- 
pered Fefe,  as  he  arched  his  back  for  the  last  time, 
and  stepped  on  shore  at  the  foot  of  this  singular 
rendezvous,  —  a  narrow  lane  threading  the  groves 
of  Papeete,  bordered  by  wine-shops,  bakeries,  and 
a  convent-wall,  lit  at  night  by  smoky  lanterns 
hanging  motionless  in  the  dead  air  of  the  town, 
and  thronged  from  7  P.  M.  till  10  p.  M.  by  people 
from  all  quarters  of  the  globe. 

Fefe  having  resumed  his  profession  as  soon  as 
his  bare  foot  was  on  his  native  heath  again,  the 
minstrels  moved  in  a  hollow  square  through  the 
centre  of  La  Petite  Pologne.  They  were  render- 
ing some  Tahitian  madrigal,  —  a  three-part  song, 
the  solo,  or  first  part,  of  which  being  got  safely 
through  with,  —  a  single  stanza,  —  it  was  repeated 
as  a  duo,  and  so  re-repeated  through  simple  ad- 
dition with  a  gradually-increasing  chorus ;  the 
nose-flute  meantime  getting  delirious,  and  sound- 
ing its  finale  in  an  ecstasy  prolonged  to  the  point 
of  strangulation,  when  the  whole  unceremoniously 
terminated,  and  everybody  took  a  rest  and  a  fresh 
start.  During  these  performances,  the  audience 
was  dense  and  demonstrative.  Fefe  was  in  his 
element,  sitting  with  his  best  side  to  the  public, 
and  flaunting  his  ear-ring  mightily.  A  dance 
followed :  a  dance  always  follows  in  that  land  of 
9  M 


194  SOUTH- SEA  IDYLS. 

light  hearts,  and  as  one  after  another  was  ushered 
into  the  arena  and  gave  his  or  her  hody  to  the 
interpretation  of  such  songs  as  would  startle  Chris- 
tian ears,  —  albeit  there  be  some  Christian  hearts 
less  tender,  and  Christian  lips  less  true,  —  to  my 
surprise,  Fefe  abandoned  his  piping  and  danced 
before  me,  and  then  came  a  flash  of  intuition,  — 
rather  late,  it  is  true,  but  still  useful  as  an  ex- 
planatory supplement  to  my  previous,  vexations. 
"Fefe!"  I  gasped  (Fefe  is  the  Tahitian  for 
Elephantiasis))  and  my  Fefe  raised  his  or  her 
skirts,  and  danced  with  a  shocking  leg.  I  really 
can't  tell  you  what  Fefe  was.  You  never  can 
tell  by  the  name.  He  might  have  been  a  boy,  or 
she  might  have  been  a  girl,  all  the  time.  1  don't 
know  that  it  makes  any  particular  difference  to 
me  what  it  was,  but  I  cannot  encourage  ele- 
phantiasis in  anything,  and  therefore  I  concluded 
my  naval  engagement  with  Fefe,  and  solemnly 
walked  toward  my  chamber,  scarcely  a  block  off. 
The  music  followed  me  to  my  door  with  a  song 
of  some  kind  or  other,  but  the  real  nature  of 
which  I  was  too  sensitive  to  definitely  ascertain. 

Gazelle-eyed  damsels,  with  star-flowers  dangling 
from  their  ears,  obstructed  the  way.  The  gen- 
darmes regarded  me  with  an  eye  single  to  France 
and  French  principles.  Mariners  arrayed  in  the 
blue  of  their  own  sea  and  the  white  of  their  own 
breakers  bore  down  upon  us  with  more  than  be- 
longed to  them.  Men  of  all  colors  went  to  and 


A    CANOE-CRUISE  IN  THE  CORAL  SEA.     195 

fro,  like  mad  creatures;  women  followed;  children 
careered  hither  and  thither.  Wild  shouts  rent 
the  air ;  there  was  an  intoxicating  element  that 
enveloped  all  things.  The  street  was  by  no  means 
straight,  though  it  could  scarcely  have  been  nar- 
rower ;  the  waves  staggered  up  the  beach,  and 
reeled  back  again  ;  the  moon  leered  at  us,  look- 
ing blear-eyed  as  she  leaned  against  a  cloud ;  and 
half-nude  bodies  lay  here  and  there  in  dark  cor- 
ners, steeped  to  the  toes  in  rum.  Out  of  this  hu- 
man maelstrom,  whose  fatal  tide  was  beginning 
to  sweep  me  on  with  it,  I  made  a  plunge  for  my 
door-knob  and  caught  it.  Twenty  besetting  sins 
sought  to  follow  me,  covered  with  wreaths  and 
fragrant  with  sandalwood  oil ;  twenty  besetting 
sins  rather  pleasant  to  have  around  one,  becauso 
by  no  means  as  disagreeable  as  they  should  be. 
Fefe  was  there  also,  and  I  turned  to  address  him 
a  parting  word,  —  a  word  calculated  to  do  its 
work  in  a  soil  particularly  mellow. 

"  Fefe,"  I  said,  "  how  can  I  help  regarding  it  as 
a  dispensation  of  Providence  that  your  one  leg  is 
considerably  bigger  than  your  other  1  How  can  I 
expect  you,  with  your  assorted  legs,  to  walk  in 
that  straight  and  narrow  way  wherein  I  have  fre- 
quently found  it  inconvenient  to  walk  myself,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  symmetry  of  my  own  extremi- 
ties ]  Therefore,  adieu,  child  of  the  South,  with 
your  one  ear-ring  and  your  piano-forte  legj  adieu 
—  forever." 


196  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

With  that  I  closed  my  door  upon  the  scene,  and 
strove  to  bury  myself  in  oblivion  behind  the  white 
window-shade.  In  vain  :  the  shadow  with  the 
mustache  and  goatee  still  pursued  the  shadow  with 
the  flowing  locks  that  fled  too  slowly.  Voices 
faint,  though  audible,  indulged  in  allusions  more 
or  less  profane,  and  with  a  success  which  would 
be  considered  highly  improper  in  any  latitude. 

Thus  sinking  into  an  unquiet  sleep,  with  a  dream 
of  canoe-cruising  in  a  coral  sea,  whose  pellucid 
waves  sang  sadly  upon  the  remote  shores  of  an 
ideal  sphere,  across  the  window  loomed  the  gi- 
gantic shadow  of  some  brown  beauty,  whose  vast 
proportions  suggested  nothing  more  lovely  than  a 
new  Sphinx,  with  a  cabbage  in  either  ear. 


UNDER   A   GRASS    ROOK 

A  LEAF  TORN  AT  RANDOM  FROM  A  TROPICAL  NOTE- 
BOOK. 

T  Kahakuloa,  under  a  terrific  hill  and 
close  upon  a  frothing  tongue  of  the  sea, 
I  draw  rein.  The  act  is  simply  a  formal- 
ity of  mine ;  probably  the  animal  would  have 
paused  here  of  his  own  free  will,  for  he  has 
been  rehearsing  his  stops  a  whole  hour  back,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  limped  somewhat  and  reaped 
determinedly  the  few  tufts  of  dry  grass  that  Nature 
had  provided  him  by  the  trail-side.  The  clouds 
are  falling ;  the  cliffs  are  festooned  with  damp 
gauze  ;  the  air  is  moist  and  cool;  a  grass  hut  of 
uncommon  purity  stands  invitingly  by.  A  moon- 
faced youth,  whose  spotless  garments  appealed  to 
me  as  he  overtook  our  caravan  a  mile  back,  says, 
"  Will  you  eat  and  sleep  1 "  I  am  but  human,  and 
a  hungry  and  sleepy  human  at  that ;  so  I  tip  off 
from  my  mule's  back  with  gratitude  and  alacrity. 
In  a  moment  the  fine  linen  of  mine  host  is  hung 
upon  its  peg,  and  a  good  study  of  the  Nude  re- 


198  SOUTH- SEA  IDYLS. 

turns  to  me  for  further  orders.  I  arn  literally 
famishing,  and  the  mule  is  already  up  to  his  ears 
in  water-cress ;  but  then  I  have  ridden  and  he  has 
carried  me.  How  just,  0  Mother  Nature,  are  thy 
judgments ! 

With  the  superb  poses  of  a  trained  athlete,  the 
Nude  swings  a  fowl  by  the  neck,  and  shortly  it  is 
plucked  and  potted,  together  with  certain  vege- 
tables of  the  proper  affinities.  Then  he  swathes  a 
fish  in  succulent  leaves,  and  buries  it  in  hot  ashes  ; 
and  then  he  smokes  his  peace-pipe.  Pipe  no  sooner 
lighted  than  mouths  mysteriously  gather:  five, 
ten,  a  dozen  of  them  magically  assemble  at  the 
smell  of  smoke  and  take  their  turn  at  the  curled 
shell,  with  a  hollow  stalk  for  a  mouth-piece.  Din- 
ner at  last.  0,  fish,  fruit,  and  fowl  on  a  mat  on 
a  floor  in  a  grass  hut  at  evening  !  How  excellent 
are  these  —  amen  !  Night  —  supper  over  —  some 
one  twanging  upon  a  stringed  instrument  of  rude 
native  origin.  Gossip  lags,  —  darkness  and  silence, 
and  a  cigarette.  The  Nude  rises  haughtily  and 
lights  a  lamp  that  looks  very  like  a  diminutive 
coifee-pot  with  a  great  flame  in  the  nose  of  it.  He 
hangs  it  against  a  beam  already  blackened  with 
smoke  to  the  peak  of  the  roof.  Again  the  peace- 
pipe  sweeps  the  home-circle,  and  is  passed  out  to 
the  mouths  of  the  neighborhood. 

Guests  drop  down  upon  us  and  fill  the  one  aper- 
ture of  the  hut  with  rows  of  curious,  welcoming 
faces ;  assorted  dogs  press  through  the  door  in  turn, 


UNDER  A   GRASS  ROOF.  199 

receive  a  slap  from  each  member  of  the  family,  and 
retreat  with  invisible  tails  ;  sudden  impulses  set 
all  tongues  wagging  in  unison  ;  impulses,  equally 
sudden  and  unaccountable,  enjoin  protracted  in- 
tervals of  silence.  The  sea  breathes  heavily  ;  there 
is  a  noise  of  rain-drops  sliding  down  the  thatch. 
Guests  disperse  with  a  kind  "  aloha"  We  are  alone 
with  the  night.  The  spirit  of  repose  descends  upon 
us  ;  one  by  one  the  dusky  members  of  mine  host's 
household  roll  themselves  into  mummies  and  lie 
in  a  solemn  row  along  the  side  of  the  room,  sleep- 
ing. I,  also,  will  sleep.  A  great  bark-cloth  (kapa) 
that  rattles  as  though  it  had  received  seven  starch- 
ings,  is  all  mine  for  covering,  —  a  royal  kapa  this, 
of  exceeding  stiffness.  I  lie  with  my  eyes  to  the 
roof,  and  count  the  beams  that  look  like  an  arbor. 
What  is  it,  as  large  as  my  thumb,  cased  in  brown 
armor  1  A  roach  !  —  a  melancholy  procession  of 
roaches  passing  from  one  side  of  the  hut,  over  the 
roof,  with  their  backs  downward,  and  descending  on 
the  other  side  by  the  beams,  —  a  hundred  of  them, 
perhaps,  or  a  thousand  :  the  cry  is,  *"  Still  they 
come  ! "  There  is  a  noise  of  tiny  feet  upon  the 
roof,  and  it  isn't  rain  ;  there  is  a  sound  as  of  falling 
objects  that  escape  before  I  can  catch  them.  My 
hand  rests  upon  a  cool,  moist  creature  that  writhes 
under  it,  —  an  animated  spinal  column  with  four 
legs  at  one  end  of  it.  Away,  thou  slimy  newt ! 
Something  runs  over  the  matting,  making  a  still, 
small  clatter  as  it  goes,  —  something  looking  like  a 


200  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

toy  train  of  dirt-cars.  Ha  !  the  venomous  and 
wily  centipede !  Put  out  the  coffee-pot,  for  these 
sights  are  horrible ! 

Now  I  will  sleep  with  my  face  under  the  kapa,  — 
silence,  serene  silence,  and  darkness  profound  ;  the 
sea  beating  in  agony  at  the  foot  of  the  big  hill,  — 
a  time  for  lofty  and  sublime  revery.  More  rain 
outside  the  hut ;  gusts  of  wind,"  wailing  as  they 
rush  past  us.  Thanks  for  this  shelter.  My  pillo\v 
saturated  with  cocoa-nut  oil  —  ah,  what  savage 
dreams  may  have  disturbed  these  sleepers  !  No 
matter.  Will  get  a  wink  of  sleep  before  daybreak. 
Sleep,  at  last,  —  how  refreshing  art  thou  ! 

Hello  !  the  coffee-pot  in  a  blaze  again  ;  the  Nude 
smoking  his  peace-pipe ;  children  eating  and 
making  merry.  Daybreak  ]  No  ;  midnight,  per- 
chance, —  darkness  without,  darkness  once  more 
(by  request)  within.  "  Come  again,  bright  dream." 
Horror  !  the  house  shaken  as  by  an  earthquake,  — 
gnashing  of  teeth  distinctly  audible  ;  the  mule  un- 
doubtedly eating  up  the  side  of  the  grass  hut  ! 
Anon,  quiet'restored.  A  suggestion  of  moonlight 
through  the  open  door ;  the  twanging  of  the  stringed 
affair  ;  a  responsive  twang  in  the  distance.  Some 
one  steals  cautiously  forth  into  the  starlight.  All 
is  not  well  in  Kahakuloa.  Rain  over ;  mule  vege- 
tating elsewhere ;  roaches  subdued ;  sea  compara- 
tively quiet.  Welcome,  kind  Nature's  sweet 
restorer !  .  .  .  Humming  of  voices ;  rolling  of 
dogs  about  the  house  ;  ditto  of  children  ditto ; 


UNDER  A   GRASS  ROOF.  201 

broad  daylight,  and  breakfast  waiting.  Mule 
saddled,  and,  with  a  mouthful  of  roses,  looking 
fresh  and  happy.  Mule-boy  eager  for  the  fray. 
Time  up.  Adieu,  adieu  —  0  beautiful  Kahakuloa  ! 
I  must  away, 

Above  the  terrible  hill  hang  clouds  and  shadows  ; 
fringes  of  rain  obscure  the  trail  as  it  climbs  persist- 
ently to  heaven  ;  but  up  that  trail,  into  and 
through  those  clouds  and  shadows,  I  pursue  my 
solitary  pilgrimage. 


MY   SOUTH-SEA   SHOW. 


|  IGH  in  her  lady's-chamber  sat  Gail,  look- 
ing with  calm  eyes  through  the  budding 
maples  across  the  hills  of  spring.  Her 
letter  was  but  half  finished,  and  the  village  post 
was  even  then  ready;  so  she  woke  out  of  her 
revery,  and  ended  the  writing  as  follows  : 

"  SPRING,  — • — . 

"  I  know  not  where  you  may  be  at  this  moment,  — 
living  with  what  South- Sea  Island  god,  drinking  the 
milk  of  cocoa-nut,  and  eating  bread-fruit,  —  but  wher- 
ever you  are,  forget  not  your  promise  to  come  home 
again,  bringing  your  sheaves  with  you." 

Anon  she  sealed  it  and  mailed  it,  and  it  was 
hurried  away,  over  land  and  sea,  till,  after  many 
days,  it  found  me  drinking  my  cocoa-milk  and  re- 
freshing myself  with  bread-fruits. 

Anon  I  replied  to  her,  not  on  the  green  enamel 
of  a  broad  leaf,  with  a  thorn  stylet,  but  upon  the 
blank  margins  of  Gail's  letter,  with  my  last  half- 
inch  of  pencil.  I  said  to  her  :  — 


MT  SOUTH-SEA   SHOW.  203 

"  SUMMER, . 

"  By  and  by  I  will  come  to  you,  when  the  evenings 
are  very  long,  and  the  valley  is  still.  I  will  cross  the 
lawn  in  silence,  and  stand  knocking  at  the  south  entry. 
Deborah  will  open  the  door  to  me  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling, for  I  shall  be  sunburnt  and  brawny,  with  a  baby 
cannibal  under  each  arm.  Then  at  a  word  a  tattooed 
youngster  shall  reach  her  a  Tahitian  pearl,  and  I  will 
cry,  '  Give  it  to  Mistress  Gail ' ;  whereat  Deborah  will 
willingly  withdraw,  leaving  me  motionless  in  the  dead 
leaves  by  the  south  entry.  You  will  take  the  token, 
dear  Gail,  and  know  it  as  the  symbol  of  my  return. 
You  will  come  and  greet  us,  and  lead  us  to  the  best 
chamber,  and  we  will  feast  with  you  as  long  as  you  like? 
—  I  and  my  cannibals." 

I  was  never  quite  sure  of  what  Gail  said  to  my 
letter,  but  I  knew  her  for  a  true  soul ;  so  I  gathered 
my  cannibals  under  my  metaphorical  wings,  and 
journeyed  unto  the  village,  and  came  into  it  at  sun- 
set, while  it  was  autumn.  We  passed  over  the  lawn 
in  silence,  and  stood  knocking  at  the  south  entry, 
in  real  earnest.  Deborah  came  at  last,  and  the 
little  striped  fellow  bore  aloft  his  pearl  of  Tahitian 
beauty,  while  I  gave  my  message,  and  Deborah 
was  terrified  and  thought  she  was  dreaming.  But 
she  took  the  pearl  and  went,  and  we  stood  in  the 
keen  air  of  autumn,  and  my  South  Sea  babies  were 
very  cold  and  moaned  pitifully  under  my  arms, 
and  the  little  pearl-bearer  shivered  in  all  his  stripes, 
and  capered  in  the  dead  leaves  like  an  imp  of 
darkness. 


204  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

Then  Gail  came  to  us  and  let  us  in,  and  we 
camped  by  the  great  fire  in  the  sitting-room, 
whither  Deborah  brought  bowls  of  new  milk  for 
the  little  ones,  and  was  wonderfully  amazed  at  their 
quaintness  and  beauty,  but  quite  failed  to  affiliate 
with  my  striped  pearl-bearer. 

So  I  said,  "Sit  you  down,  Deborah,  and  hear 
the  true  story  of  my  Zebra."  Gail  had  already 
captured  the  bronze  babies,  and  was  helping  them 
with  their  bowls  of  milk  as  they  nestled  at  h.er 
feet,  and  I  took  my  striped  beauty  between  my 
knees  and  stroked  his  soft  wool,  and  told  how  he 
saved  me  from  a  watery  death,  and  again  from  the 
fiery  stake,  and  was  doubly  dear  to  me  forever- 
more  :  — 

"•We  were  at  the  island  of  Pottobokee,  getting 
water  and  fruit ;  had  stacked  the  last  sack  of 
mangoes  and  limes  in  the  boat,  and  were  off  for 
the  ship,  glad  to  escape  with  our  scalps,  when  a 
wave  took  us  amidships  on  the  reef,  and  we 
swamped  in  the  dreadful  spume.  Some  were 
drowned ;  some  clung  to  the  boat,  though  it  was 
stove  badly,  while  relief  came  from  the  vessel  as 
quickly  as  possible,  and  the  fragments  were  gathered 
out  of  the  waves  and  taken  aboard. 

"  They  thought  themselves  lucky  to  escape  with 
the  remnants,  for  they  knew  the  natives  for  canni- 
bals, and  the  shore  was  black  and  noisy  within  ten 
minutes  after  the  accident.  *It  looked  stormy  in 
that  neighborhood  :  hence  the  caution  and  haste 


MY  SOUTH-SEA  SHOW.  205 

of  the  relief-crew,  who  left  me  for  drowned,  I  sup- 
pose, as  they  never  came  after  me,  but  spread  every- 
thing, and  went  out  of  sight  before  dark  that 
evening. 

"  I  was  no  swimmer  at  all,  but  I  kicked  well, 
and  was  about  diving  the  fatal  dive,  —  last  of  three 
warnings  that  seem  providentially  allotted  the  luck- 
less soul  in  its  extremity  :  I  was  just  upon  the 
third  sinking,  when  a  tough  little  arm  gripped 
me  under  the  breast,  and  I  hung  over  it  limp  and 
senseless,  knowing  nothing  further  of  my  deliver- 
ance, until  I  found  myself  a  captive  in  Kabala-kum, 
—  a  heathenish  sort  of  paradise,  a  little  way  back 
from  the  sea-coast. 

u  The  natives  had  given  up  all  hope  of  feasting 
upon  me,  for  there  was  n't  a  respectable  steak  in 
my  whole  carcass,  nor  was  my  appetite  promising ; 
so  they  resolved  to  make  a  bonfire  of  me,  to  get 
me  out  of  the  way.  But  that  tough  little  arm 
that  saved  me  from  an  early  grave  in  the  water 
was  husband  to  a  tough  little  heart,  that  resolved 
I  should  n't  be  burnt.  I  was  his  private  and 
personal  property  ;  he  had  fished  me  out  of  the 
sea ;  he  would  cook  me  in  his  own  style  when  he 
got  ready,  and  no  one  else  was  to  have  a  word  in 
the  matter. 

"  There  he  showed  his  royal  blood,  Deborah,  for 
he  was  the  King's  son  :  this  marvellous  tattooing 
proclaims  his  rank.  Only  the  noble  and  brave  are 
permitted  to  brand  these  rainbows  into  their  brown 
skins. 


206  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

"  I  was  almost  frightened  when  I  first  returned 
to  consciousness,  and  saw  this  little  fellow  pawing 
me  in  his  tender  and  affectionate  way.  He  was 
lithe  as  a  panther,  and  striped  all  over  with  bril- 
liant and  changeless  stripes ;  so  I  called  him  my 
boy  Zebra,  and  I  suppose  he  called  me  his  white 
mouse,  or  something  of  that  sort. 

"  Well,  he  saved  me  at  all  events  ;  and  having 
heard  something  of  you  and  Gail  from  me,  he 
wanted  to  see  you  very  much,  and  we  made  our 
escape  together,  though  he  had  to  sacrifice  all  his 
bone-jewelry,  and  lots  of  skulls  and  scalps  :  and 
here  he  is,  and  you  must  like  him,  Deborah,  be- 
cause he  is  a  little  heathen,  and  does  n't  go  to 
sabbath  school,  as  a  general  thing,  and  worships 
idols  very  badly." 

Deborah  did  me  the  compliment  to  absorb  a  tear 
in  the  broad  hem  of  her  apron,  at  the  conclusion 
of  my  episode,  whereat  my  beautiful  Zebra  re- 
garded her  in  utter  amazement,  then  turned  his 
queer  face  —  ringed,  streaked,  and  striped  —  up 
to  mine,  and  laughed  his  barbaric  laugh.  He  was 
wonderful  to  see,  with  his  breast  like  a  pigeon  ;  his 
round,  supple,  almost  voluptuous  limbs,  peculiar 
to  his  amphibious  tribe ;  his  head  crowned  with  a 
turban  of  thick  wool,  so  fine  and  flossy,  it  looked 
as  though  it  had  been  carded  :  it  stood  two  inches 
deep  at  a  tangent  from  his  oval  pate. 

From  his  woolly  crown  to  the  soles  of  his  feat, 
my  Zebra  was  frescoed  in  the  most  brilliant  and 


MT  SOUTH-SEA   SHOW.  207 

artistic  fashion.  Every  color  under  the  sun  seemed 
pricked  into  his  skin  (there  he  discounted  the  ze- 
bras, who  are  limited  in  their  combinations  of  light 
and  shade)  :  this,  together  with  the  multiplicity 
of  figures  therein  wrought,  was  a  never-failing  joy 
to  me.  0  my  Zabra  !  how  did  you  ever  grow  so 
splendid  off  yonder  in  the  South  Seas? 

We  chatted  that  evening  by  Gail's  fire,  till  my 
Zebra's  woolly  head  went  clean  to  the  floor,  and  he 
looked  like  some  prostrate  idol  about  to  be  immo- 
lated on  that  Christian  hearth ;  and  the  baby 
cannibals  were  as  funny  as  two  little  brown  rabbits, 
with  their  ears  clipped,  nestling  at  Gail's  patient 
feet. 

It  was  fully  nine  o'clock  by  this  time,  so  Deborah 
got  the  Bible,  smoothed  out  her  apron,  and  opened 
it  thereon,  while  she  read  a  chapter.  We  sat  by 
the  fire  and  listened.  I  heard  the  earnest  voice 
of  the  reader,  while  the  autumn  winds  rose  in 
gusts,  and  puffed  out  the  curtains  now  and  then. 
1  thought  of  the  chilly  nights  and  frosty  mornings 
we  were  to  endure,  —  we  exiles  of  the  South.  I 
thought  of  the  snows  that  were  to  follow,  and  of 
the  little  idolaters  sleeping  through  the  gospel, 
with  deaf  ears,  while  their  hearts  panted  high  in 
some  dream  of  savage  joy. 

There  was  a  big  bed  made  up  on  the  floor  of  my 
room,  —  the  best  chamber  at  Gail's,  —  and  there  I 
laid  out  my  little  pets,  tucking  them  in  with  in- 
finite concern ;  for  they  looked  so  like  three 


208  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

diminutive  mummies,  as  they  lay  there,  that  I 
didn't  know  whether  they  would  think  it  worth 
while  to  wake  up  again  into  life  ;  and  what  would 
I  be  worth  then,  without  my  wild  boys  ?  —  I,  who 
was  born,  by  some  mischance,  out  of  my  tropical 
element,  and  whose  birthright  is  Polynesia  !  Gail 
laughed  when  she  saw  me  fretting  so,  and  she 
patted  the  curly  heads  of  the  babies,  and  stroked 
the  Zebra's  shaggy  pate,  and  said  "  Good  night  "  to 
us,  as  her  step  measured  the  hall,  and  a  door 
closed  in  the  distance ;  whereupon,  instead  of 
freezing  in  the  icy  linen  of  the  spare  bed  at  the  other 
end  of  the  room,  I  crept  softly  into  the  nest  of 
cannibals,  and  we  slept  like  kittens  until  morning. 

At  a  seasonable  hour  the  next  day,  I  got  my 
jewels  —  my  little  inhuman  jewels  —  into  their 
thick,  winter  clothes  again,  and  we  trotted  down 
to  breakfast,  as  hungry  as  bears.  Deborah  was 
good  enough  to  embrace  both  the  little  ones,  but 
she  gave  the  Zebra  a  wide  berth,  and  was  not 
entirely  satisfied  at  leaving  him  loose  in  the  house. 

He  was  rather  odd-looking,  I  confess.  He  used 
to  curl  up  under  the  table  and  go  to  sleep,  at  all 
hours  of  the  day,  —  I  think  it  was  the  cold  weather 
that  encouraged  him  in  it,  —  stretching  himself, 
now  and  then,  like  a  spaniel,  and  showing  his 
sharp  saw-teeth  in  a  queer  way,  when  he  laughed 
in  his  dreams.  Presently  Gail  came  in,  and  we 
sat  at  table,  and  came  near  to  eating  her  out  of 
house  and  home.  Deborah  said  grace,  —  rather  a 


MY  SOUTH- SEA   SHOW.  209 

long  one,  considering  we  were  so  hungry,  —  a  grace 
in  which  my  babies  were  not  forgotten,  and  the 
Zebra  was  made  the  subject  of  a  special  prayer. 
To  my  horror,  Zebra  was  helping  himself  surrep- 
titiously to  the  nearest  dish,  the  while.  It  was  a 
merry  meal.  I  rose  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  laid 
before  Gail  an  enormous  placard,  printed  in  as 
many  colors  as  even  the  Zebra  could  boast,  and 
Gail  read  it  out  to  Deborah  :  — 

JENKINS7    HALL. 
IMMENSE     ATTRACTION! 

FOR    ONE  NIGHT  ONLY! 

HOKY   AND    POKY, 

A  BRACE    OF   SOUTH -SEA   BABIES,   FROM  THE   ANCIENT   RIVERS 

OF   KABALA-KUM, 

— AND — 

THE    WONDERFUL    BOY 

ZEBRA, 

A  CANNIBAL   PRINCE,   FROM  THE   PALMY   PLAINS    OF  POTTOBOKEE, 
IN  THEIR   GRAND   MORAL  DIVERSION. 

{Kr>  The  first  and  only  opportunity  is  now  afforded  the  great  public 
to  observe  with  safety  how  the  heathen,  in  his  blindness, 

bows  down  to  wood  and  stone. 

OCP*  These  are  the  only  original  and  genuine  representatives  of  the 
Kabalakumists  and  Pottobokees  that  ever  left 

their  coral  strand. 
ADMISSION, .    CHILDREN,  HALF  PRICE. 

Deborah  was  awed  into  silence/ and  Gail  was 
apparently  thinking  over  the  possible  result  of  this 
strange  advertisement,  for  she  said  nothing,  but 
took  deliberate  sips  of  coffee,  and  broke  the  dry 
toast  between  her  fingers,  while  she  looked  at  all 
four  of  us  savages  in  a  peculiar  and  ominous  man- 

N 


210  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

ner.  Nothing  was  said,  however,  to  disparage  any 
further  announcement  of  the  entertainment ;  and, 
having  appeased  our  hunger,  we  adjourned  to  the 
reading  of  another  chapter,  during  which  the  South 
Sea  babies  would  play  cat's-cradles  under  Gail's 
writing-table,  and  the  Zebra  put  his  foot  into  the 
middle  of  her  work-basket,  and  was  very  miserable 
indeed. 

My  hands  were  full  of  business.  As  an  impres- 
sario  I  had  to  rush  about  all  day,  mustering  the 
Great  Public  for  the  evening.  Out  I  went,  full  of 
it,  while  the  bronze  midgets  were  left  in  charge  of 
Gail  and  Deborah,  and  the  Zebra  was  locked  in  an 
upper  room,  with  plenty  to  eat,  and  no  facilities 
for  getting  into  mischief.  I  saw  the  leading  men 
in  town :  the  preacher,  who  was  deeply  interested, 
proposing  to  take  up  a  collection  on  the  next  sab- 
bath, for  our  benefit,  —  which  proposition  I  received 
with  a  graceful  acquiescence  peculiarly  my  own ; 
the  professor,  at  the  Seminary,  who  was  less  affable, 
but  whose  pupils  were  radiant  at  the  prospect  of 
getting  into  the  cannibals  at  reduced  rates ;  and 
the  editor,  who  desired  to  print  full  biographies  of 
myself  and  cannibals,  with  portraits  and  fac-simile 
of  autographs.'  He  strongly  urged  the  plausibility 
of  this  new  method  of  winning  the  heart  of  the 
Great  Public,  and  was  willing  to  take  my  note  for 
thirty  days,  in  consideration  of  his  personal  friend- 
ship for  me,  and  his  sympathy,  as  a  public  man 
and  a  member  of  the  press,  with  the  show  business. 


MY  SOUTH-SEA   SHOW.  211 

Everything  worked  so  nicely  that  it  really 
seemed  quite  providential  that  I  had  come,  as  I 
had,  like  anything  in  the  night,  —  noiseless  and 
unheralded.  Everything  was  in  good  order,  and, 
after  our  late  dinner,  I  went  out  again,  to  finish 
for  the  evening, — portioning  off  my  charges,  as 
before,  and  returning,  at  the  last  moment,  to  bring 
them  up  to  the  hall  for  their  debut.  But  judge  of 
my  horror  at  finding  my  Zebra  stretched  upon  the 
floor  of  his  room,  quite  insensible;  and  all  this 
time,  Jenkins's  Hall  was  thronged  with  the  Great 
Public,  who  had  come  to  see  us  bow  down  to 
wood  and  stone. 

I  was  greatly  alarmed.  What  could  this  sudden 
attack  mean  ]  He  was  not  subject  to  disorders  of 
that  nature,  —  at  least,  I  had  never  seen  him  in  a 
similar  condition.  The  little  fellows  began  to  cry, 
in  their  peculiar  fashion,  which  is  simply  raising 
the  voice  to  the  highest  and  shrillest  pitch,  and 
then  shaking  to  an  unlimited  degree.  Gail  was  by 
no.  means  charmed  at  these  new  developments,  and 
Deborah  fled  from  the  room.  In  a  moment  the 
cause  of  our  trouble  was  disclosed.  Gail's  cologne 
bottles  were  exhumed  from  under  the  bed  —  but 
quite  empty.  Their  contents  had  been  imbibed 
by  the  Zebra  in  an  extemporaneous  bacchanalian 
festival,  tendered  to  himself  by  himself,  in  honor 
of  the  occasion. 

It  was  useless  to  borrow  further  trouble,  so  I 
prepared  my  apology  :  "  The  sudden  indisposition 


212  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

peculiar  to  young  cannibals  during  the  early  stages 
of  a  public  and  Christian  career  had  quite  pros- 
trated the  representative  from  many  a  palmy  plain ; 
and  the  South  Sea  babies  would  endeavor  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  his  absence  with  several  new 
and  interesting  features  not  set  down  in  the  bills." 

I  was  most  cordially  received  by  the  audiences 
and  the  little  midgets  danced  their  weird  and 
fantastic  dances,  in  the  least  possible  clothing 
imaginable,  and  sang  their  love-lyrics,  and  chanted 
their  passionate  war-chants,  and  gave  the  funeral 
wail  in  a  manner  that  reflected  the  highest  credit 
upon  their  respective  South-Sea  papas  and  mam- 
mas. I  considered  it  an  entire  success,  and  pock- 
eted the  proceeds  with  considerable  satisfaction. 

But  to  return  to  my  poor  little  Zebra.  His 
cologne-spree  had  been  quite  too  much  for  him. 
He  was  mentally  and  physically  demoralized,  and 
could  be  of  no  use  to  me,  professionally,  for  a 
week,  at  least.  I  at  once  saw  this,  and  as  1 4iad  two 
or  three  engagements  during  that  time,  I  begged 
Gail  to  allow  him  to  remain  with  her  during 
his  convalescence,  while  I  went  on  with  the  babes 
and  fulfilled  my  engagements.  She  consented. 
Deborah  also  promised  to  be  very  good  to  him. 
I  think  she  took  a  deeper  interest  in  him  when 
she  found  how  very  human  he  was,  —  a  fact  she 
did  not  fully  realize  until  he  took  to  drinking. 

On  we  went,  through  three  little  villages,  in 
three  little  valleys,  with  crowded  houses  every 


MY  SOUTH-SEA  SHOW.  213 

evening.  Delighted  and  enthusiastic  audiences 
wanted  the  midgets  passed  around,  just  as  we 
passed  the  bone  fish-hooks  and  shark' s-teeth  combs, 
for  inspection. 

About  this  time  I  received  a  short  and  decisive 
epistle  from  Gail,  —  an  immediate  summons  home. 
The  Zebra,  in  an  unwatched  moment,  had  got 
into  the  kerosene,  and  was  considered  no  longer  a 
welcome  guest  at  Gail's.  Deborah  was  praying 
with  him  daily,  which  did  n't  seem  to  have  the  de- 
sired effect,  for  he  was  growing  worse  and  worse 
every  hour. 

There  were  at  least  seven  towns  anxiously 
awaiting  my  South-Sea  Lecture,  with  the  "  heath- 
en in  his  blindness  "  attachment.  Yet  it  was  out 
of  the  question  to  think  of  pressing  on  in  my  tour, 
thereby  sacrificing  my  poor  Zebra,  and  possibly 
Gail  as  well.  I  feared  it  was  already  too  late  to 
save  him,  for  1  knew  the  nature  of  his  ailment,  and 
foresaw  the  almost  inevitable  result.  When  we  re- 
turned, Gail  met  us  with  tears  in  her  eyes  and  fur- 
rows of  care  foreshadowed  in  her  face.  I  felt  how 
great  a  responsibility  I  had  shifted  upon  her  shoul-< 
ders,  and  accused  myself  roundly  for  such  selfish- 
ness. The  babes  rushed  into  her  arms  with  the 
first  impulse  of  love,  and  refused  to  allow  her  out 
of  their  sight  again  for  some  hours. 

Deborah  was,  even  then,  wrestling  with  the  an- 
gels up  in  Zebra's  room,  and  I  waited  until  she 
came  down,  with  her  eyes  red  and  swollen, —  a  bot- 


214  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

tie  of  physic  in  one  hand  and  a  Bible  in  the  other  ; 
then  I  went  in  to  my  poor,  thin,  shadowy  little 
Zebra,  who  was  wild-eyed  and  nervous,  and  scarce- 
ly knew  me  at  first,  but  went  off  into  hysterics  the 
moment  he  found  me  out,  to  make  up  for  it.  He 
had  had  no  opportunity  of  speaking  to  any  one, 
save  in  his  broken  English,  for  several  days,  and 
he  rushed  into  a  torrent  of  ejaculations  so  violent 
and  confusing  that  I  was  thoroughly  alarmed  at 
his  condition.  Presently  he  grew  quieter,  from 
sheer  exhaustion,  and  then  I  learned  how  he  had 
taken  Deborah's  well-intended  efforts  toward  his 
spiritual  conversion.  He  believed  her  praying  him 
to  death  !  Deborah  knew  nothing  of  the  sensitive 
organism  of  these  islanders.  When  moved  by  a 
spirit  of  revenge,  they  threaten  one  another  with 
prayers.  Incantations  are  performed  and  sacri- 
fices offered,  under  which  fearful  spells  the  unhap- 
py victim  of  revenge  cannot  think  of  surviving. 
So  he  lies  down  and  dies,  without  pain,  or  any  ef- 
fort on  his  part ;  and  all  your  physic  is  like  so 
much  water,  administer  it  in  what  proportions 
you  choose. 

I  went  into  the  garden,  where  I  saw  Gail  under 
the  maples, — the  very  maples  that  were  budding 
in  pink  and  white  when  she  wrote  me  the  letter 
bidding  me  come  out  of  the  South,  bringing  my 
sheaves  with  me.  The  animated  sheaves  were 
even  then  swinging  on  the  clothes-lines,  and  taking 
life  easily.  "Gail,"  I  said,  "0  Gail,  the  Zebra  is 


MY  SOUTH-SEA  SHOW.  215 

a  dead  boy !  "  Gail  was  shocked,  and  silent.  I 
told  her  how  useless,  how  hopeless  it  was  to  think 
of  saving  him.  All  the  doctors  and  all  the  medi- 
cines in  the  world  were  a  fallacy  where  the  soul 
was  overshadowed  with  a  malediction.  "  Gail,"  I 
said,  "  that  Zebra  says  he  wants  to  be  an  angel, 
and  he  could  n't  possibly  have  decided  upon  any- 
thing more  unreasonable  than  this.  What  shall  I 
do  without  my  Zebra  1 "  And  I  walked  off  by  my- 
self, and  felt  desperately,  while  Gail  was  wrapped 
in  thought,  and  the  babes  continued  to  do  inex- 
pressible things  on  the  clothes-lines,  to  the  intense 
admiration  of  three  small  boys  on  the  other  side  of 
the  garden-fence. 

The  doctor  had  already  been  called,  and  the 
physic  that  Deborah  carried  about  with  her  was  a 
legitimate  draught  prescribed  by  him.  Little  did 
he  know  of  the  death-angel  that  walks  hand-in- 
hand  with  a  superstition  as  antique  as  Mount 
Ararat.  So  day  by  day  the  little  Zebra  grew 
more  and  more  slender,  till  his  frail,  striped  skele- 
ton stretched  itself  in  a  hollow  of  the  bed,  and 
great  gleaming  eyes  watched  me  as  they  would  de- 
vour me  with  deathless  and  passionate  love. 

Sometimes  his  soul  seemed  to  steal  out  of  his 
withering  body  and  make  mysterious  pilgrimages 
into  its  native  clime.  I  heard  him  murmuring 
and  muttering  in  a  language  unfamiliar  to  me.  I 
remembered  that  the  chiefs  had  a  dialect  of  their 
own, —  a  vocabulary  so  sacred  and  secret  that  no 


216  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS, 

commoner  ever  dared  to  study  out  its  meaning. 
This  I  took  to  be  his  classical  and  royal  tongue, 
for  he  was  of  the  best  blood  of  the  kingdom,  and  a 
King's  heir. 

Deborah,  at  the  delicate  suggestion  of  Gail,  dis- 
continued her  visitations  to  his  chamber,  as  it 
seemed  to  excite  him  so  sadly  ;  but  her  earnest 
soul  never  rested  from  prayer  in  his  behalf  till  his 
last  breath  was  spent,  and  his  splendid  stripes 
grew  livid  for  a  moment,  and  seemed  to  change 
like  the  dolphin's  before  their  waning  glories  were 
faded  out  in  the  lifeless  flesh. 

One  twilight  I  took  the  midgets  into  the  dark- 
ened room.  They  scarcely  knew  the  thin,  drawn 
face,  with  the  slender,  wiry  fingers  locked  over 
it,  but  they  recognized  the  death-stroke  with  pro- 
phetic instinct,  and,  crouching  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed,  rocked  their  dusky  bodies  to  and  fro,  to  and 
fro,  wailing  the  death-wail  for  Zebra. 

Then  I  longed  for  wings  to  fly  away  with  my 
savage  brood,  —  away,  over  seas  and  mountains, 
till  the  palms  waved  again  their  phantom  crests  in 
the  mellow  starlight,  and  the  sea  moaned  upon  the 
reef,  and  the  rivulet  leaped  from  crag  to  crag 
through  silence  and  shadow :  where  death  seemed 
but  a  grateful  sleep ;  for  the  soul  that  dawned  in 
that  quiet  life  had  never  known  the  wear  and  tear 
of  this  one,  but  was  patient,  and  peaceful,  and 
ready  at  any  hour  of  summons. 

Dear  Gail  strove  to  comfort  me  in  my  tribula- 


MT  SOUTH-SEA  SHOW.  217 

tion ;  but  the  Great  Public  went  its  way,  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  young  soul  that  was  passing  in 
speedy  death.  Yet  the  Great  Public  was  my 
guide,  philosopher,  and  friend.  I  could  do  noth- 
ing without  its  sanction  and  co-operation.  I 
basked  in  its  smiles.  I  trembled  at  the  thought 
of  its  displeasure ;  and  now  death  was  robbing  me 
of  my  hard-earned  riches,  and  annihilating  my 
best  attraction.  No  wonder  I  fretted  myself,  and 
berated  my  ill-fortune.  Poor  Gail  had  her  hands 
full  to  keep  me  within  bounds.  I  rushed  to  the 
Zebra's  room,  and  vowed  to  him  that  if  he  wouldn't 
die  just  yet,  I  would  take  him  home  at  once 
to  his  kingdom,  and  we  'd  always  live  there,  and 
die  there,  by  and  by,  when  we  were  full  of  years. 

Alas,  it  was  too  late  !  "  I  want  to  be  an  angel," 
reiterated  my  Zebra,  his  thin  face  brightening 
with  an  unearthly  light ;  "  to  be  an  angel,"  whis- 
pered that  faint  and  failing  voice,  while  his  humid 
eyes  glowed  like  twin  moons  sinking  in  the  far, 
mystical  horizon  of  the  new  life  he  was  about  to 
enter  upon.  I  struggled  with  him  no  longer.  I 
bowed  down  by  his  pillow,  and  pressed  the  shadowy 
form  of  my  once  beautiful  Zebra.  "Well,  be  an 
angel,  little  prince,"  said  I ;  "be  anything  you 
please,  now,  for  1  have  done  my  best  to  save  you, 
and  failed  utterly." 

So  he  passed  hence  to  his  destiny  ;  and  his  nation 
wept  not,  neither  wore  they  ashes  upon  their  fore- 
heads, nor  burned  seams  in  their  flesh;  for  they 
10 


218  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS, 

knew  not  of  his  fate.  But  there  was  a  small  grave 
digged  in  the  orchard,  and  at  dusk  T  carried  the 
coffin  in  my  arms  thither  :  how  light  it  was  !  he 
could  have  borne  me  upon  his  brawny  shoulders 
once, —  strong  as  a  lion's.  Gail  cried,  and  Debo- 
rah cried ;  and  I  was  quite  beside  myself.  The 
mites  of  cannibals  ate  earth  and  ashes,  and  came 
nearly  naked  to  the  obsequies,  refusing  to  wear 
their  jackets,  though  the  air  was  frosty  and  the 
night  promised  snow.  We  knelt  there,  to  cover 
Zebra  for  the  last  time,  crying  and  shivering,  and 
feeling  very,  very  miserable. 

I  took  a  little  rest  from  business  after  that; 
seeing,  meantime,  a  stone  cut  in  this  manner  :  — 

Here  lies, 
In  this  far  land, 

A  PRINCE  OF  THE  SAVAGE  SOUTH, 
And  the  Last  of  his  Tribe. 

But  life  called  me  into  the  arena  again.  A 
showman  has  little  time  to  waste  in  mourning 
over  his  losses,  however  serious  they  may  be. 

One  frosty  evening  I  got  my  brace  of  cannibals 
into  the  lumbering  ambulance  that  constituted 
my  caravan,  with  our  boxes  of  war-clubs  and 
carved  whale' s-teeth  lashed  on  behind  us ;  plenty 
of  buffalo-robes  around  us,  and  a  layer  of  hot 
bricks  underfoot,  and  so  we  started  for  our  next 
scene  of  action.  The  inexorable  calls  of  the  pro- 
fession forbade  our  lingering  longer  under  Gail's 
hospitable  roof;  and  it  was  not  without  pangs  of 


MY  SOUTH-SEA  SHOW.  219 

inexpressible  sorrow  that  we  turned  from  her  door, 
and  knew  not  if  we  were  ever  again  to  enjoy  the 
pure  influences  of  her  household. 

My  heart  warmed  toward  poor,  disconsolate 
Deborah  in  that  moment,  and  I  forgave  her  all, 
which  was  the  most  Christian  act  I  ever  yet  per- 
formed. As  we  rode  down  the  lane,  I  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  low  mound  in  the  orchard,  and  I 
buried  my  little  barbarians  under  my  great-coat, 
so  as  to  spare  them  a  fresh  sorrow,  while  I  thought 
how,  spring  after  spring,  that  small  grave  would 
be  covered  with  drifts  of  pale  apple-blossoms,  and 
in  the  long  winters  it  would  be  hidden  under  the 
paler  drifts  of  snow,  —  when  it  should  -be  strewn 
with  sea-shells,  and  laid  away  under  a  cactus- 
hedge,  in  a  dense  and  fragrant  shade ;  and  I  gath- 
ered my  little  ones  closer  to  me,  and  said  in  my 
soul:  "0,  if  the  August  Public  could  only  know 
them  as  I  know  them,  it  Avould  doubt  us  less,  and 
love  us  more  !  The  Zebra  is  gone,  indeed,  but  my 
babes  are  here,  fresh  souls  in  perfect  bodies,  like 
rareripe  fruits,  untouched  as  yet,  with  the  nap  and 
the  dew  upon  them."  The  stars  sparkled  and 
flashed  in  the  cloudless  sky,  as  we  hurried  over 
the  crisp  ground,  —  a  little,  bereaved,  benighted 
company  of  South-Sea  strollers,  who  ask  your 
charity,  and  give  their  best  in  return  for  it. 

I  have  told  you  of  my  South-Sea  show.     You 
may  yet  have  an  opportunity  of  judging  how  you 


220 


SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 


like  it,  provided  my  baby  heathens  don't  insist 
upon  turning  into  angels  before  their  time,  after 
the  manner  of  the  lamented  Zebra.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  dread  of  this  not  improbable  curbing  of 
my  high  career,  is  but  one  of  the  sorrows  of  a 
South-Sea  showman. 


THE   HOUSE   OF   THE  SUN. 


Y  Hawaiian  oracle,  Kahele,  having  posed 
himself  in  compact  and    chubby   grace, 
awaited  his  golden  opportunity,  which 
was   not  long  a   coming.     I  sat  on  the  steps  of 

L 's  veranda,  and  yawned  frightfully,  because 

life  was  growing  tedious,  and  I  did  not  know  ex- 
actly what  to  do  next.  L 's  house  was  set  in 

the  nicest  kind  of  climate,  at  the  foot  of  a  great 
mountain,  just  at  that  altitude  where  the  hot  air 
stopped  dancing,  though  it  was  never  cool  enough 
to  shut  a  door,  or  to  think  of  wearing  a  hat  for 
any  other  purpose  than  to  keep  the  sun  out  of 
one's  eyes.  L 's  veranda  ran  out  into  vacan- 
cy as  blank  as  cloudless  sky  and  shadowless  sea 
could  make  it;  in  fact,  all  that  the  eye  found  to 
rest  upon  was  the  low  hill  jutting  off  from  one  cor- 
ner of  the  house  beyond  a  jasmine  in  blossom  ;  and 
under  the  hill  a  flat-sailed  schooner  rocking  in  a 
calm.  I  think  there  was  nothing  else  down  the 
slope  of  the  mountain  but  tangled  yellow  grass, 
that  grew  brown  and  scant  as  it  crept  into  the 


222  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

torrid  zone,  a  thousand  feet  below  us,  and  there  it 
had  not  the  courage  to  come  out  of  the  earth  at 
all;  so  the  picture  ended  in  a  blazing  beach,  with 
warm  waves  sliding  up  and  down  it,  backed  by 
blue- watery  and  blue-airy  space  for  thousands 
and  thousands  of  miles. 

Why  should  not  a  fellow  yawn  over  the  situa- 
tion] especially  as  L was  busy  and  could  not 

talk  much,  and  L 's  books  were  as  old  as  the 

hills  and  a  good  deal  drier. 

Having  yawned,  I  turned  toward  Kahele,  and 
gnashed  my  teeth.  The  little  rascal  looked  know- 
ing ;  his  hour  had  come.  He  fired  off  in  broken 
English,  and  the  effect  was  something  like  this :  — 

"  Suppose  we  sleep  in  House  of  the  Sun,  —  we 
make  plenty  good  sceneries  1 " 

"And  where  is  that?"  quoth  L 

Kahele's  little  lump  of  a  nose  was  jerked  up  to- 
ward the  great  mountain  at  the  back  of  L 's 

house.  "  Haleakala  !  "  *  cried  he,  triumphantly, 
for  he  saw  he  had  resurrected  my  interest  in  life, 
and  he  felt  that  he  had  a  thing  or  two  worth  show- 
ing, a  glimpse  of  which  might  content  me  with 
this  world,  dull  as  I  found  it  just  then.  "  Halea- 
kala —  the  House  of  the  Sun  —  up  before  us,"  said 
Kahele. 

"  And  to  get  into  the  Sun's  House  ? " 

"  Make  a  good  climb  up,  and  go  in  from  the  top ! " 

*  Haleakala,  an  extinct   crater  in  the   Sandwich   Islands, 
supposed  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world. 


THE  HOUSE   OF    THE  SUN.  223 

Ha !  to  creep  up  the  roof  and  drop  in  at  the 
skylight :  this  were  indeed  a  royal  adventure. 
"  How  long  would  it  take  ? " 

Kahele  waxed  eloquent.  That  night  we  should 
sleep  a  little  up  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain,  lodg- 
ing with  the  haolis  (foreigners)  among  the  first 
clouds ;  in  the  morning  we  should  surprise  the  sun 
in  the  turrets  of  his  temple  ;  then  down  —  down 
—  down  into  the  crater,  that  had  been  strewn 
with  ashes  for  a  thousand  years.  After  that,  out 
on  the  other  side,  toward  the  sea,  where  the  trade- 
winds  blew,  and  the  country  was  fresh  and  fruit- 
ful. The  youngster  sweated  with  enthusiasm 
while  he  strove  to  make  me  comprehend  the  full 
extent  of  the  delights  pertaining  to  this  journey ; 
and,  as  he  finished,  he  made  a  rapid  flank  move- 
ment toward  the  animals,  staked  a  few  rods 
away. 

It  was  not  necessary  that  I  should  consent  to 
undertake  this  expedition.  He  was  eager  to  go, 
and  he  would  see  that  I  enjoyed  myself  when  I 
went ;  but  go  I  must,  now  that  he  had  made  up 
my  mind  for  me.  T  confess,  I  was  as  wax  in  that 
climate.  Yet,  why  not  take  this  promising  and 
uncommon  tour  1  The  charm*  of  travel  is  to  break 
new  paths.  I  ceased  to  yawn  any  further  over 
life.  Kahele  went  to  the  beasts,  and  began  sad- 
dling them.  L 's  hospitality  culminated  in 

a  bottle  of  cold,  black  coffee,  and  a  hamper  of  de- 
licious sandwiches,  such  as  Mrs.  L excels  in. 


224  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  go.  It  did  look  like 
a  conspiracy ;  but,  as  I  never  had  the  moral  cour- 
age to  fight  against  anything  of  that  sort,  I  got 
into  the  saddle  and  went. 

Turning  for  a  moment  toward  the  brute's  tail, 
overcome  with  conflicting  emotions,  I  said  :  — 

"  Adieu,  dear  L ,  thou  picture  of  boister- 
ous industry  !  Adieu,  Mrs.  L ,  whose  light 

is  hid  under  the  bushel  of  thy  lord  ;  but,  as  it 
warms  him,  it  is  all  right,  I  suppose,  and  thy  re- 
ward shall  come  to  thee  some  day,  I  trust !  By- 
by,  multitudes  of  little  L s,  tumbling  reck- 
lessly in  the  back-yard,  crowned  with  youth  and 
robust  health  and  plenty  of  flaxen  curls  !  Away, 
Kahele  !  for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  clouds 
are  skating  along  the  roof  of  the  House  of  the 
Sun.  Sit  not  upon  the  order  of  your  going,  but 
strike  spurs  at  once,  —  and  away  !  " 

It  was  thus  that  I  relieved  myself.  The  pros- 
pect of  fresh  adventure  intoxicated  me.  I  do  not 
believe  I  could  have  been  bought  off  after  that  en- 
livening farewell.  The  air  of  the  highlands  was 
charged  with  electricity.  I  bristled  all  over  with 
new  life.  I  wanted  to  stand  up  in  my  saddle  and 

fly- 

It  seemed  the  boy  had  engaged  a  special  guide 
for  the  crater,  —  one  accustomed  to  feeling  his  way 
through  the  bleak  hollow,  where  any  unpractised 
feet  must  have  surely  gone  astray.  Kahele  offered 
him  a  tempting  bonus  to  head  our  little  caravan 


THE  HOUSE  OF   THE  SUN.  225 

at  once,  though  it  goes  sorely  against  the  Hawaiian 
grain  to  make  up  a  mind  inside  of  three  days. 
Kahele  managed  the  financial  department,  when- 
ever he  had  the  opportunity,  with  a  liberality 
worthy  of  a  purse  ten  times  as  weighty  as  mine  ; 
but  as  he  afterward  assured  me,  that  guide  was  a 
fine  man,  and  a  friend  of  his  whom  it  was  a  pleas- 
ure and  a  privilege  to  serve. 

Of  course,  it  was  all  right,  since  I  couldn't  help 
myself;  and  we  three  pulled  up  the  long  slopes  of 
Haleakala,  while  the  clouds  multiplied,  as  the  sun 
sank,  and  the  evening  grew  awfully  still.  Some- 
where up  among  the  low-hanging  mist  there  was  a 
house  full  of  haolis,  and  there  we  proposed  to 
spend  the  night.  We  were  looking  for  this  shel- 
ter with  all  our  six  eyes,  while  we  rode  slowly  on- 
ward, having  scarcely  uttered  a  syllable  for  the 
last  half-hour.  You  know  there  are  some  impress- 
ive sorts  of  solitude,  that  seal  up  a  fellow's  lips ; 
he  can  only  look  about  him  in  quiet  wonderment, 
tempered  with  a  fearless  and  refreshing  trust  in 
that  Providence  who  has  enjoined  silence.  Well, 
this  was  one  of  those  times  ;  and  right  in  the 
midst  of  it  Kahele  sighted  a  smoke-wreath  in  the 
distance.  To  me  it  looked  very  like  a  cloud,  and 
I  ventured  to  declare  it  such ;  but  the  youngster 
frowned  me  down,  and  appealed  to  the  special 
guide  for  farther  testimony.  The  guide  declined 
to  commit  himself  in  the  matter  of  smoke  or  mist, 
as  he  ever  did  on  all  succeeding  occasions,  being  a 
10*  o  » 


226  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

wise  guide,  who  knew  his  own  fallibility.  It  was 
smoke  !  —  a  thin,  blue  ribbon  of  it,  uncoiling  itself 
from  among  the  branches  of  the  overhanging 
trees,  floating  up  and  up  and  tying  itself  into 
double-bow  knots,  and  then  trying  to  untie  itself, 
but  perishing  in  the  attempt. 

In  the  edge  of  the  grove  we  saw  the  little  white 
cottage  of  the  haolis  ;  and,  not  far  away,  a  camp- 
fire,  with  bright,  red  flames  dancing  around  a  ket- 
tle, swung  under  three  stakes  with  their  three 
heads  together.  Tall  figures  were  moving  about 
the  camp,  looking  almost  like  ghosts,  in  the  uncer- 
tain glow  of  the  fire  ;  and  toward  these  lights  and 
shadows  we  jogged  with  satisfaction,  scenting  sup- 
per from  afar. 

"  Halloo ! "  said  we,  with  voices  that  did  not 
sound  very  loud,  up  in  that  thin  atmosphere. 

"  Halloo  !  "  said  they,  with  the  deepest  uncon- 
cern, as  though  they  had  been  through  the  whole 
range  of  human  experience,  and  there  was  positive- 
ly nothing  left  for  them  to  get  excited  over. 

Some  of  their  animals  whinnied  in  a  fashion  that 
drew  a  response  from  ours.  A  dog  barked  savage- 
ly, until  he  was  spoken  to,  and  then  was  obliged 
to  content  himself  with  an  occasional  whine. 
Some  animal  —  a  sheep,  perhaps  —  rose  up  in  the 
trail  before  us,  and  plunged  into  the  bush,  send- 
ing our  beasts  back  on  their  haunches  with  fright. 
A  field-cricket  lifted  up  his  voice  and  sang ;  and 
then  a  hundred  joined  him ;  and  then  ten  thou- 


THE  HOUSE   OF   THE  SUN.  227 

sand  times  ten  thousand  swelled  the  chorus,  till 
the  mountains  were  alive  with  singing  crickets. 

"  Halloo,  stranger  !  Come  in  and  stop  a  bit, 
won't  you  ? "  That  was  our  welcome  from  the 
chief  of  the  camp,  who  came  a  step  or  two  for- 
ward, as  soon  as  we  had  ridden  within  range  of 
the  camp-fire. 

And  we  went  in  unto  them,  and  ate  of  their 
bread,  and  drank  of  their  coffee,  and  slept  in  their 
blankets,  —  or  tried  to  sleep,  —  and  had  a  mighty 
good  time  generally. 

The  mountaineers  proved  to  be  a  company  of 
California  miners,  who  had  somehow  drifted  over 
the  sea,  and,  once  on  that  side,  they  naturally 
enough  went  into  the  mountains  to  cut  wood,  break 
trails,  and  make  themselves  useful  in  a  rough,  out- 
of-door  fashion.  They  had  for  companions  and  as- 
sistants a  few  natives,  who,  no  doubt,  did  the  best 
they  could,  though  the  Californians  expressed  con- 
siderable contempt  for  the  "lazy  devils,  who  were 
fit  for  nothing  but  to  fiddle  on  a  jew's-harp." 

We  ate  of  a  thin,  hot  cake,  baked  in  a  frying-pan 
over  that  camp-fire ;  gnawed  a  boiled  bone  fished 
out  of  the  kettle  swung  under  the  three  sticks ; 
drank  big  bowls  of  coffee,  sweetened  with  coarse 
brown  sugar  and  guiltless  of  milk ;  and  sat  on  the 
floor  all  the  while,  with  our  legs  crossed,  like  so 
many  Turks  and  tailors.  We  went  to  our  blankets 
as  soon  as  the  camp-fire  had  smothered  itself  in 
ashes,  though  meanwhile  Jack,  chief  of  the  camp, 


228  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

gathered  himself  to  windward  of  the  flames,  with 
his  hips  on  his  heels  and  his  chin  on  his  knees, 
smoking  a  stubby  pipe  and  talking  of  flush  times 
in  California.  He  was  one  of  those  men  who 
could  and  would  part  with  his  last  quarter,  rely- 
ing upon  Nature  for  his  bed  and  board.  He  said 
to  me,  "  If  you  can  rough  it,  hang  on  a  while,  — 
what's  to  drive  you  off?"  I  could  rough  it:  the 
fire  was  out,  the  night  chilly ;  so  we  turned  in  un- 
der blue  blankets  with  a  fuzz  on  them  like  moss, 
and,  having  puffed  out  the  candle,  —  that  lived 
long  enough  to  avenge  its  death  in  a  houseful  of 
villanous  smoke,  —  we  turned  over  two  or  three 
times  apiece,  and,  one  after  another,  fell  asleep. 
At  the  farther  side  of  the  house  lay  the  natives, 
as  thick  as  sheep  in  a  pen.  one  of  them  a  glossy 
black  fellow,  as  sleek  as  a  eunuch,  born  in  the 
West  Indies,  but  whose  sands  of  life  had  been 
scattered  on  various  shores.  This  sooty  fellow 
twanged  a  quaint  instrument  of  native  workman- 
ship, and  twanged  with  uncommon  skill.  His  art 
was  the  life  of  that  savage  community  at  the  other 
end  of  the  house.  Again  and  again,  during  the 
night,  I  awoke  and  heard  the  tinkle  of  his  primi- 
tive harp,  mingled  with  the  ejaculations  of  delight 
wrung  from  the  hearts  of  his  dusky  and  sleepless 
listeners. 

Once  only  was  that  midnight  festival  interrupt- 
ed. We  all  awoke  suddenly  and  simultaneously, 
though  we  scarcely  knew  why ;  then  the  dog  began 


THE  HOUSE   OF   THE  SUN.  229 

to  mouth  horribly.  My  blanket-fellows  —  beds 
we  had  none  —  knew  there  was  mischief  brewing, 
and  rushed  out  with  their  guns  cocked.  Present- 
ly the  dog  came  in  from  the  brush,  complaining 
bitterly,  and  one  of  the  miners  shot  at  a  rag  flut- 
tering among  the  bushes.  In  the  morning  we 
found  a  horse  gone,  and  a  couple  of  bullet-holes 
in  a  shirt  spread  out  to  dry.  As  soon  as  the  ex- 
citement was  over,  we  returned  to  the  blankets 
and  the  floor.  The  eunuch  tuned  his  harp  anew 
and,  after  a  long  while,  dawn  looked  in  at  the  un- 
curtained window,  with  a  pale,  gray  face,  freckled 
with  stars. 

Kahele  saw  it  as  soon  as  I  did,  and  was  up  be- 
times. I  fancy  he  slept  little  or  none  that  night, 
for  he  was  fond  of  music,  arid  especially  fond  of 
such  music  as  had  made  the  last  few  hours  more 
or  lejss  hideous.  Everybody  rose  with  the  break 
of  day,  and  there  was  something  to  eat  long  before 
sunrise,  after  which  our  caravan,  with  new  vigor, 
headed  for  the  summit. 

Wonderful  clouds  swept  by  us ;  sometimes  we 
were  lost  for  a  moment  in  their  icy  depths.  I 
could  scarcely  see  the  tall  ears  of  my  mule  when 
we  rode  into  those  opaque  billows  of  vapor  that 
swept  noiselessly  along  the  awful  heights  we  were 
scaling.  It  was  a  momentary  but  severe  bereave- 
ment, the  loss  of  those  ears  and  the  head  that 
went  with  them,  because  I  cared  not  to  ride  sad- 
dles that  seemed  to  be  floating  in  the  air.  What 


230  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

was  Prince  Firouz  Schah  to  me,  or  what  was  I  to 
the  Princess  of  Bengal,  that  I  should  do  this 
thing ! 

There  are  pleasanter  sensations  than  that  of 
going  to  heaven  on  horseback ;  and  we  wondered 
if  we  should  ever  reach  the  point  where  we  could 
begin  to  descend  again  to  our  natural  level,  and 
talk  with  people  infinitely  below  us  just  then. 
Ten  thousand  perpendicular  feet  in  the  air ;  our 
breath  short ;  our  animals  weak  in  the  knees  ;  the 
ocean  rising  about  us  like  a  wall  of  sapphire,  on 
the  top  of  which  the  sky  rested  like  a  cover,  —  we 
felt  as  though  we  were  shut  in  an  exhausted  re- 
ceiver, the  victims  of  some  scientific  experiment 
for  the  delectation  of  the  angels.  We  were  at  the 
very  top  of  the  earth.  There  was  nothing  on  our 
side  of  it  nearer  to  Saturn  than  the  crown  of  our 
heads.  It  was  deuced  solemn,  and  a  trifle  embar- 
rassing. It  was  as  though  we  were  personally  re- 
sponsible for  the  planet  during  the  second  we  hap- 
pened to  be  uppermost  in  the  universe.  I  felt  un- 
equal to  the  occasion  in  that  thin,  relaxing  atmos- 
phere. The  special  guide,  I  knew,  would  shirk 
this  august  investiture,  as  he  shirked  everything 
else,  save  only  the  watchful  care  of  my  collapsing 
porte-monnaie.  Kahele,  perhaps,  would  represent 
us  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  —  which  was  not 
much  beyond  an  amazing  capacity  for  food  and 
sleep,  coupled  with  cheek  for  at  least  two  of  his 
size.  There  is  danger  in  delay,  saith  the  copy- 


THE  HOUSE   OF   THE  SUN.  231 

book ;  and  while  we  crept  slowly  onward  toward 
the  rim  of  the  crater,  the  sun  rose,  arid  we  forgot 
all  else  save  his  glory.  We  had  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  chasm.  Below  us  yawned  a  gulf 
whose  farther  walls  seemed  the  outlines  of  some 
distant  island,  within  whose  depths  a  sea  of  cloud 
was  satisfied  to  ebb  and  flow,  whose  billows  broke 
noiselessly  at  the  base  of  the  sombre  walls  among 
whose  battlements  we  clung  like  insects.  I  won- 
der that  we  were  not  dragged  into  that  awful  sea, 
for  strange  and  sudden  gusts  of  wind  swept  past 
us,  coming  from  various  quarters,  and  rushing  like 
heralds  to  the  four  corners  of  the  heavens.  We 
were  far  above  the  currents  that  girdle  the  lower 
earth,  and  seemed  in  a  measure  cut  off  from  the 
life  that  was  past.  We  lived  and  breathed  in 
cloud-land.  All  our  pictures  were  of  vapor  ;  our 
surroundings  changed  continually.  Forests  laced 
with  frost  j  silvery,  silent  seas  ;  shores  of  agate 
and  of  pearl  ;  blue,  shadowy  caverns ;  mountains 
of  light,  dissolving  and  rising  again  transfigured 
in  glorious  resurrection,  the  sun  tingeing  them 
with  infinite  color.  A  flood  of  radiance  swept  over 
the  mysterious  picture,  —  a  deluge  of  blood-red 
glory  that  came  and  went  like  a  blush  ;  and  then  the 
mists  faded  and  fled  away,  and  gradually  we  saw 
the  deep  bed  of  the  crater,  blackened,  scarred, 
distorted,  —  a  desert  of  ashes  and  cinders  shut  in 
by  sooty  walls  ;  no  tinge  of  green,  no  suggestion 
of  life,  no  sound  to  relieve  the  imposing  silence  of 


232  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

that  literal  death  of  Nature.  We  were  about  to 
enter  the  guest-chamber  of  the  House  of  the  Sun. 
If  we  had  been  spirited  away  to  the  enchanted 
cavern  of  some  genie,  we  could  not  have  been 
more  bewildered.  The  cloud-world  had  come  to 
an  untimely  end,  and  we  were  left  alone  among 
its  blackened  and  charred  ruins.  That  magician, 
the  sun,  hearing  the  approach  of  spies,  had  trans- 
formed his  fairy-  palace  into  a  bare  and  uninviting 
wilderness.  But  we  were  destined  to  explore  it, 
notwithstanding ;  and  our  next  move  was  to  dis- 
mount and  drive  our  unwilling  animals  over  into 
the  abyss.  The  angle  of  our  descent  was  too  near 
the  perpendicular  to  sound  like  truth,  in  print.  I 
will  not  venture  to  give  it ;  but  I  remember  that 
our  particular  guide  and  his  beast  were  under 
foot,  while  Kahele  and  his  beast  were  overhead, 
and  I  and  my  beast,  sandwiched  between,  man- 
aged to  survive  the  double  horror  of  being  buried 
in  the  debris  that  rained  upon  us  from  the  tail-end 
of  the  caravan,  and  slaying  the  unfortunate 
leaders  ahead  with  the  multitude  of  rocks  we  sent 
thundering  down  the  cliff.  A  moving  avalanche 
of  stones  and  dust  gradually  brought  us  to  the 
bed  of  the  crater,  where  we  offered  thanks  in  the 
midst  of  an  ascending  cloud  of  cinders,  every  soul 
of  us  panting  with  exhaustion,  and  oozing  like  a 
saturated  sponge.  The  heat  was  terrific  ;  shelter 

there  was  none ;  L 's  coffee  was  all  that  saved 

us  from  despair.     Before  us  stretched  miles  and 


THE  HOUSE   OF   THE  SUN.  233 

miles  of  lava,  looking  like  scorched  pie-crust ;  two 
thousand  feet  above  us  hung  heavy  masses  of 
baked  masonry,  unrelieved  by  any  tinge  of  verd- 
ure. To  the  windward  there  was  a  gap  in  the 
walls,  through  which  forked  tongues  of  mist  ran 
in,  but  curled  up  and  over  the  ragged  cliffs,  as 
though  the  prospect  were  too  uninviting  to  lure 
them  farther.  It  behooved  us  to  get  on  apace, 
for  life  in  the  deserted  House  of  the  Sun  was,  in- 
deed, a  burden,  and  morever  there  was  some  dan- 
ger of  our  being  locked  in.  The  wind  might  veer 
a  little,  in  which  case  an  ocean  of  mist  would  del- 
uge the  crater,  shutting  out  light  and  heat,  and 
bewildering  the  pilgrim  so  that  escape  were  im- 
possible. The  loadstone  bewitched  the  compass 
in  that  fixed  sea,  and  there  were  no  beacons  and 
no  sounding  signals  to  steer  by.  Across  the 
smooth,  hard  lava  occasional  traces  of  a  trail  were 
visible,  like  scratches  upon  glass.  Close  to  the 
edges  of  this  perilous  path  yawned  chasms. 
Sometimes  the  narrow  way  led  over  a  ridge  be- 
tween two  sandy  hollows,  out  of  which  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  return,  if  one  false  step  should 
plunge  you  into  its  yielding  vortex.  There  was 
a  long  pull  toward  afternoon,  and  a  sweltering 

camp  about  three  p.  M.,  where  we  finished  L 's 

lunch,  and  were  not  half  satisfied.  Even  the  con- 
soling weed  barely  sustained  our  fainting  spirits, 
for  we  knew  that  the  more  tedious  portion  of  the 
journey  was  yet  to  come. 


234  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

The  windward  vestibule  wound  down  toward 
the  sea,  a  wild  gorge  through  which  the  molten 
lava  had  poured  its  destructive  flood.  There  it  lay, 
a  broad,  uneven  pass  of  dead,  black  coals, —  clink- 
ers, as  ragged  and  sharp  as  broken  glass, —  thread- 
ed by  one  beaten  track  a  few  inches  in  breadth. 
To  lose  this  trail  were  to  tear  the  hoofs  from  your 
suffering  beasts  in  an  hour  or  two,  and  to  lacerate 
your  own  feet  in  half  the  time.  Having  refreshed 
ourselves  on  next  to  nothing,  we  pressed  forward. 
Already  the  shadows  were  creeping  into  the  House 
of  the  Sun,  and  as  yet  we  had  scarcely  gained  the 
mouth  of  the  pass.  As  we  rode  out  from  the  shelter 
of  a  bluff,  a  cold  draught  struck  us  like  a  wave  of 
the  sea.  Down  the  bleak,  winding  chasm  we  saw 
clouds  approaching,  pale  messengers  that  travel 
with  the  trade- wind  and  find  lodgment  in  the 
House  of  the  Sun.  They  were  hastening  home 
betimes,  and  had  surprised  us  in  the  passage.  It 
was  an  unwelcome  meeting.  Our  particular  guide 
ventured  to  assume  an  expression  of  concern,  and 
cautiously  remarked  that  we  were  pilikia, —  that 
is,  in  trouble !  For  once  he  was  equal  to  an 
emergency ;  he  knew  of  a  dry  well  close  at  hand  ; 
we  could  drop  into  it  and  pass  the  night,  since  it 
was  impossible  to  feel  our  way  out  of  the  crater 
through  clouds  almost  as  dense  as  cotton.  Had 
we  matches  *?  No.  Had  we  dry  sticks  1  Yes,  in 
the  well,  perhaps.  Kahele  could  make  fire  with- 
out phosphorus,  arid  we  could  keep  warm  till  morn- 


THE  HOUSE   OF   THE  SUN.  235 

ing,  and  then  escape  from  the  crater  as  early  as  pos- 
sible.  After  much  groping  about,  in  and  out  of 
clouds,  we  found  the  dusty  well  and  dropped  into 
it.  Ferns  —  a  few  of  them  —  grew  about  its 
sides ;  a  dwarfed  tree,  rejoicing  in  four  angular 
branches,  as  full  of  mossy  elbows  as  possible,  stood 
in  the  centre  of  our  retreat,  and  at  the  roots  of 
this  miserable  recluse  the  Kanakas  contrived  to 
grind  out  a  flame  by  boring  into  a  bit  of  decayed 
wood  with  a  dry  stick  twirled  rapidly  between 
their  palms.  Dead  leaves,  dried  moss,  and  a  few 
twigs  made  a  short-lived  and  feeble  fire  for  us. 
Darkness  had  come  upon  the  place.  We  watched 
the  flaming  daggers  stab  the  air  fitfully,  and  finally 
sheathe  themselves  for  good.  We  filled  our  shallow 
cave  with  smoke  that  drove  us  into  the  mouth  of 
it,  from  time  to  time,  to  keep  from  strangulation. 
We  saw  our  wretched  beasts  shaking  with  cold  ; 
we  saw  the  swift,  belated  clouds  hurrying  onward 
in  ghostly  procession  ;  we  could  do  nothing  but 
shudder  and  return  to  our  dismal  bed.  No  cheer- 
ful cricket  blew  his  shrill  pipe,  like  a  policeman's 
whistle  ;  the  sea  sang  not  for  us  with  its  deep,  re- 
sounding voice ;  the  Hawaiian  harp  was  hushed. 
A  stone,  loosened  by  some  restless  lizard,  rattled 
down  the  cliff;  a  goat,  complaining  of  the  cold, 
bleated  once  or  twice.  The  wind  soughed ;  the 
dry  branches  of  our  withering  tree  sawed  across 
each  other :  these  were  our  comforters  during 
that  almost  endless  night. 


236  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

Once  the  heavens  were  opened  to  us.  Through 
the  rent  in  the  clouds  we  saw  a  great  shoulder  of 
the  cliff  above  us,  bathed  in  moonlight.  A  thou- 
sand grotesque  shadows  played  over  the  face  of  it. 
Pictures  came  and  went,  —  a  palimpsest  of  mys- 
teries. Gargoyles  leered  at  us  from  under  the 
threatening  brows  of  the  bluff ;  and  a  white  spec- 
tre, shining  like  a  star,  stood  on  the  uppermost 
peak,  voiceless  and  motionless, —  some  living  crea- 
ture lost  in  admiration  of  the  moon.  Then  the 
sky  fell  on  us,  and  we  were  routed  to  our  solitary 
cave. 

There  is  a  solitude  of  the  sea  that  swallows  up 
hope  ;  the  despairing  spirit  hangs  over  a  threaten- 
ing abyss  of  death  ;  yet  above  it  and  below  it 
there  are  forms  of  life  rejoicing  in  their  natural 
element.  But  there  is  a  solitude  of  the  earth 
that  is  more  awful ;  in  it  Death  taunts  you  with 
his  presence,  yet  delays  to  strike.  At  sea,  one 
step,  and  the  spirit  is  set  at  liberty,  —  the  body  is 
entombed  forever.  But  alas  !  within  the  deserts  of 
the  earth  no  sepulchre  awaits  the  ashes  of  him 
who  has  suffered,  and  nought  but  the  winds  or  the 
foul-feeding  vultures  shall  cleanse  that  bleaching 
skeleton  where  it  lies. 

We  tried  to  sleep  on  our  stony  pillows.  Kahele 
woke  and  found  the  guide  and  me  dozing  ;  later, 
the  guide  roused  himself  to  the  discovery  that 
Kahele  and  I  were  wrapped  in  virtuous  uncon- 
sciousness. Anon  I  sat  up  among  the  rocks,  lis- 


THE  HOUSE  OF   THE  SUN.  237 

tened  to  the  two  natives  breathing  heavily,  and 
heard  the  wind  sighing  over  the  yawning  mouth  of 
our  cavern.  I  heard  the  beasts  stamping  among 
the  clinkers,  and  covered  my  head  again  with  the 
damp  blanket,  and  besieged  sleep.  Then  we  all 
three  started  from  our  unrefreshing  dreams,  and 
lo  !  the  clouds  were  rising  and  ffoeing  away,  and 
a  faint,  rosy  light  over  the  summit-peaks  looked 
like  sunrise  ;  so  we  rose  and  saddled  the  caravan, 
and  searched  about  us  for  the  lost  trail.  Hour 
after  hour  we  drew  nearer  to  the  mouth  of  the 
crater.  Our  progress  was  snail-like ;  each  one  of 
us  struck  out  for  himself,  having  lost  confidence 
in  the  cunning  of  the  other.  From  small  eleva- 
tions we  took  our  reckoning,  and  he  who  got  the 
farthest  toward  the  sea  lifted  up  his  voice  in  tri- 
umph, and  was  speedily  joined  by  the  rest  of  the 
party. 

At  last  we  came  upon  the  bluffs  that  overhang 
the  green  shores  of  the  island.  We  were  safely 
out  of  the  Sun's  Tabernacle,  but  not  yet  free  to 
pass  into  the  lowly  vales  of  the  earth.  Again  and 
again  we  rode  to  the  edges  of  the  cliffs,  whose 
precipitous  walls  forbade  our  descent.  Sometimes 
we  clung  to  the  bare  ribs  of  the  mountain,  where 
a  single  misstep  might  have  sent  us  headlong  into 
the  hereafter.  Frequently  we  rejoiced  in  a  dis- 
covery that  promised  well ;  but  anon  a  sheltered 
chasm  unveiled  its  hideous  depths,  or  an  indigo- 
jungle  laid  hold  of  us  and  cut  us  off  in  that  direc- 
tion. 


238  SOUTH-SEA    IDYLS. 

Below  us  lay  the  verdant  slopes  of  Kaupo. 
From  their  dried-grass  houses  flocked  the  natives, 
looking  like  ants  and  their  hills.  They  watched 
us  for  hours  with  amused  interest.  Now  and 
then  they  called  to  us  with  faint  and  far-off  voices, 
—  suggestions  that  were  lost  to  us,  since  they 
sounded  like  so  many  bird-notes  floating  in  the 
•and.  All  day  we  saw  the  little  village  lying  un- 
der us  temptingly  peaceful  and  lazy.  Clouds 
still  hung  below  us :  some  of  them  swept  by, 
pouring  copious  drops,  that  drove  our  audience 
within  doors  for  a  few  moments ;  but  the  rain  was 
soon  over,  the  sun  shone  brighter  than  ever,  the 
people  returned  to  watch  us,  arid  the  day  waned. 
We  surprised  flock  upon  flock  of  goats  in  their 
rocky  retreats ;  but  they  dispersed  in  all  direc- 
tions like  quicksilver,  and  we  passed  on.  About 
dusk  we  got  into  the  grassy  land,  and  thanked 
God  for  deliverance. 

Here  Kahele's  heart  rejoiced.  Here,  close  by 
the  little  chapel  of  Kaupo,  he  discovered  one 
whom  he  proclaimed  his  grandfather ;  though, 
judging  from  the  years  of  the  man,  he  could 
scarcely  have  been  anything  beyond  an  uncle.  I 
was  put  to  rest  in  a  little  stone  cell,  where  the 
priests  sleep  when  they  are  on  their  mission  to 
Kaupo.  A  narrow  bed,  with  a  crucifix  at  the  foot 
of  it,  a  small  window  in  the  thick  wall,  with  a  jug 
of  water  in  the  corner  thereof,  and  a  chair  with  a 
game-leg,  constituted  the  furnish ment  of  the 


THE  HOUSE   OF   THE  SUN.  239 

quaint  lodging.  Kahe'le  rushed  about  to  see  old 
friends,  —  who  wept  over  him,  —  and  was  very 
long  absent,  whereat  I  waxed  wroth,  and  berated 
him  roundly ;  but  the  poor  fellow  was  so  charm- 
ingly repentant  that  I  forgave  him  all,  and  more 
too,  for  I  promised  him  I  would  stay  three  days, 
at  least,  with  his  uncle-grandfather,  and  give  him 
his  universal  liberty  for  the  time  being. 

From  the  open  doorway  I  saw  the  long  sweep 
of  the  mountains,  looking  cool  and  purple  in  the 
twilight.  The  ghostly  procession  of  the  mists 
stole  in  at  the  windward  gap  ;.  the  after-glow  of 
the  evening  suffused  the  front  of  the  chapel  with 
a  warm  light,  and  the  statue  of  the  Virgin  above 
the  chapel-door,  —  a  little  faded  with  the  suns  of 
that  endless  summer,  a  little  mildewed  with  the 
frequent  rains,  —  the  statue  looked  down  upon  us 
with  a  smile  of  welcome.  Some  youngsters,  as 
naked  as  day-old  nest-birds,  tossed  a  ball  into  the 
air ;  and  when  it  at  last  lodged  in  the  niche  of 
the  Virgin,  they  clapped  their  hands,  half  in 
merriment  and  half  in  awe,  and  the  games 
of  the  evening  ended.  Then  the  full  moon 
rose ;  a  cock  crew  in  the  peak  of  the  chapel, 
thinking  it  daybreak,  and  the  little  fellows  slept, 
with  their  spines  curved  like  young  kittens.  By 
and  by  the  moon  hung,  round  and  mellow,  beyond 
the  chapel-cross,  and  threw  a  long  shadow  in  the 
grass  ;  and  then  I  went  to  my  cell  and  folded  my 
hands  to  rest, with  a  sense  of  blessed  and  unutter- 
able peace. 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  PALMS. 


[H,  the  long  suffering  of  him  who  threads 
a  narrow  trail  over  the  brown  crust  of  a 
hill  where  the  short  grass  lies  flat  in 
tropical  sunshine  !  On  one  side  sleeps  the  blue, 
monotonous  sea  ;  on  the  other,  crags  clothe  them- 
selves in  cool  mist  and  look  dreamy  and  solemn. 

The  boy  Kahele,  who  has  no  ambition  beyond 
the  bit  of  his  foot-sore  mustang,  lags  behind, 
taking  all  the  dust  with  commendable  resigna- 
tion. 

As  for  me,  I  am  wet  through  with  the  last 
shower;  I  steam  in  the  fierce  noonday  heat.  I 
spur  Hoke  the  mule  into  the  shadow  of  a  great 
cloud  that  drifts  lazily  overhead,  and  am  grateful 
for  this  unsatisfying  shade  as  long  as  it  lasts.  I 
watch  the  sea,  swinging  my  whip  by  its  thread- 
bare lash  like  a  pendulum,  —  the  sea,  where  a 
very  black  rock  is  being  drowned  over  and  over  by 
the  tremendous  swell  that  covers  it  fora  moment ; 
but  somehow  the  rock  comes  to  the  surface  again, 
and  seems  to  gasp  horribly  in  a  deluge  of  break- 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  PALMS.     241 

ers.     That  rock  has  been  drowning  for  centuries, 
yet  its  struggle  for  life  is  as  real  as  ever. 

I  watch  the  mountains,  cleft  with  green,  fern- 
cushioned  chasms,  where  an  occasional  stream 
silently  distills.  Far  up  on  a  sun-swept  ledge  a 
white,  scattering  drift,  looking  like  a  rose-garden 
after  a  high  wind,  I  know  to  be  a  flock  of  goats 
feeding.  But  the  wind-dried  and  sunburnt  grass 
under  foot,  the  intangible  dust  that  pervades  the 
air,  the  rain-cloud  in  the  distance,  trailing  its  ban- 
ners of  crape  in  the  sea  as  it  bears  down  upon  us, 
—  these  are  what  fret  me  a  little,  and  make  life  a 
burden  for  the  time  being ;  so  I  spur  my  faithless 
Hoke  up  a  new  ascent  as  forbidding  as  any  that 
we  have  yet  come  upon,  and  slowly  and  with 
many  pauses  creep  to  the  summit. 

Kahele,  "the  goer,"  belies  his  name,  for  he 
loiters  everywhere  and  always ;  yet  I  am  not  sor- 
ry. I  have  the  first  glimpse  of  Wailua  all  to  my- 
self. I  am  not  obliged  to  betray  my  emotion, 
which  is  a  bore  of  the  worst  sort. 

Wailua  lies  at  my  feet,  —  a  valley  full  of  bees, 
butterflies,  and  blossoms,  the  sea  fawning' at  the 
mouth  of  it,  the  clouds  melting  over  it;  water- 
falls gushing  from  numerous  green  corners;  silver- 
white  phaetons  floating  in  mid-air,  at  a  loss  to 
choose  between  earth  and  heaven,  though  evident- 
ly a  little  inclined  earthward,  for  they  no  sooner 
drift  out  of  the  bewildering  bowers  of  Wailua  than 
they  return  again  with  noticeable  haste. 
11  p 


242  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

Down  I  plunge  into  the  depths  of  the  valley, 
with  the  first  drops  of  a  heavy  shower  pelting  me 
in  the  back ;  and  under  a  great  tree,  that  seems 
yearning  to  shelter  somebody,  I  pause  till  the  rain 
is  over. 

Anon  the  slow-footed  Kahele  arrives,  leaking  all 
over,  and  bringing  a  peace-offering  of  ohias,  the 
native  apple,  as  juicy  and  sweet  as  the  forbidden 
fruits  of  Paradise.  As  for  these  apples,  they  have 
solitary  seed,  like  a  nutmeg,  a  pulp  as  white  as 
wax,  a  juice  flavored  with  roses,  and  their  skin  as 
red  as  a  peony  and  as  glossy  as  varnish.  These  we 
munch  and  munch  while  the  forest  reels  under 
the  impetuous  avalanches  of  big  rain-drops,  and 
our  animals  tear  great  tufts  of  sweet  grass  from 
the  upper  roadside. 

Is  it  far  to  the  chapel,  I  winder.  Kahele 
thinks  not,  —  perhaps  a  pari  or  two  distant.  But 
a  pari,  a  cliff,  has  many  antecedents,  and  I  feel 
that  some  dozen  or  so  of  climbs,  each  more  or  less 
fatiguing,  still  separate  me  from  the  rest  I  am 
seeking,  and  hope  not  to  find  until  I  reach  the 
abode  of  Pere  Fidelis,  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
as  one  might  say. 

The  rain  ceases.  Hoke  once  more  nerves  him- 
self for  fresh  assaults  upon  the  everlasting  hills. 
Kahele  drops  behind  as  usual,  and  the  afternoon 
wanes. 

How  fresh  seems  the  memory  of  this  journey  ! 
yet  its  place  is  with  the  archives  of  the  past.  I 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  PALMS.     243 

seem  to  breathe  the  incense  of  orange-flowers  and 
to  hear  the  whisper  of  distant  waterfalls  as  I 
write. 

It  must  have  been  toward  sunset,  —  we  were 
threading  the  eastern  coast,  and  a  great  mountain 
filled  the  west,  —  but  I  felt  that  it  was  the  hour 
when  day  ends  and  night  begins.  The  heavy 
clouds  looked  as  though  they  were  still  brimful  of 
sunlight,  yet  no  ray  escaped  to  gladden  our  side 
of  the  world. 

Finally,  on  the  brow  of  what  seemed  to  be  the 
last  hill  in  this  life,  I  saw  a  cross,  —  a  cross  among 
the  palms.  Hoke  saw  it,  and  quickened  his  pace  : 
he  was  not  so  great  an  ass  but  he  knew  that  there 
was  provender  in  the  green  pastures  of  Pere  Fi- 
delis,  and  his  heart  freshened  within  him. 

A  few  paces  from  the  grove  of  palms  I  heard  a 
bell  swing  jubilantly.  Out  over  the  solemn  sea, 
up  and  down  that  foam-crested  shore,  rang  the 
sweet  Angelus.  One  may  pray  with  some  fervor 
when  one's  journey  is  at  an  end.  When  the 
prayer  was  over  I  walked  to  the  gate  of  the  chapel- 
yard,  leading  the  willing  Hoke,  and  at  that  mo- 
ment a  slender  figure,  clad  all  in  black,  his  long 
robes  flowing  gracefully  about  him,  his  boyish  face 
heightening  the  effect  of  his  grave  and  serene  de- 
meanor, his  thin,  sensitive  hands  held  forth  in 
hearty  welcome, —  a  welcome  that  was  almost  like 
a  benediction,  so  spiritual  was  the  love  which  it 
expressed,  —  came  out,  and  I  found  myself  in  the 


244  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

arms  of  Pere  Fidelis,  feeling  like  one  who  has  at 
least  been  permitted  to  kneel  upon  the  threshold 
of  his  Mecca. 

Why  do  our  hearts  sing  jubilate  when  we  meet 
a  friend  for  the  first  time  ?  What  is  it  within  us 
that  with  its  life-long  yearning  comes  suddenly 
upon  the  all-sufficient  one,  and  in  a  moment  is 
crowned  and  satisfied  1  I  could  not  tell  whether 
I  was  at  last  waking  from  a  sleep  or  just  sinking 
into  a  dream.  I  could  have  sat  there  at  his  feet 
contented  ;  I  could  have  put  off  my  worldly  cares, 
resigned  ambition,  forgotten  the  past,  and,  in  the 
blessed  tranquillity  of  that  hour,  have  dwelt  joy- 
fully under  the  palms  with  him,  seeking  only"  to 
follow  in  his  patient  footsteps  until  the  end  should 
come. 

Perhaps  it  was  the  realization  of  an  ideal  that 
plunged  me  into  a  luxurious  revery,  out  of  which 
I  was  summoned  by  mon  pere,  who  hinted  that  I 
must  be  hungry.  Prophetic  father !  hungry  I 
was  indeed. 

Mon  pere  led  me  to  his  little  house  with  three 
rooms,  and  installed  me  host,  himself  being  my 
ever-watchful  attendant.  Then  he  spoke  :  "  The 
lads  were  at  the  sea,  fishing  :  would  I  excuse  him 
for  a  moment  1 " 

Alone  in  the  little  house,  with  a  glass  of  claret 
and  a  hard  biscuit  for  refreshment,  I  looked  about 
me.  The  central  room,  in  which  I  sat,  was  bare 
to  nakedness  :  a  few  devotional  books,  a  small 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  PALMS.     245 

clock  high  up  on  the  wall,  with  a  short  wagging 
pendulum,  two  or  three  paintings,  betraying  more 
sentiment  than  merit,  a  table,  a  wooden  form 
against  the  window,  and  a  crucifix,  complete  its 
inventory.  A  high  window  was  at  my  back  ;  a 
door  in  front  opening  upon  a  veranda  shaded 
with  a  passion-vine  ;  beyond  it  a  green,  undulating 
country  running  down  into  the  sea ;  on  either 
hand  a  little  cell  containing  nothing  but  a  narrow 
bed,  a  saint's  picture,  and  a  rosary.  Kahele,  hav- 
ing distributed  the  animals  in  good  pasturage,  lay 
on  the  veranda  at  full  length,  supremely  happy . 
as  he  jingled  his  spurs  over  the  edge  of  the  steps 
and  hummed  a  native  air  in  subdued  falsetto,  like 
a  mosquito. 

Again  I  sank  into  a  re  very.  Enter  mon  pere 
with  apologies  and  a  plate  of  smoking  cakes  made 
of  eggs  and  batter,  his  own  handiwork ;  enter  the 
lads  from  the  sea  with  excellent  fish,  knotted  in 
long  wisps  of  grass ;  enter  Kahele,  lazily  sniffing 
the  savory  odors  of  our  repast  with  evident  relish  ; 
and  then  supper  in  good  earnest. 

How  happy  we  were,  having  such  talks  in  sev- 
eral sorts  of  tongues,  such  polyglot  efforts  toward 
sociability,  —  French,  English,  and  native  in  equal 
parts,  btit  each  broken  and  spliced  to  suit  our 
dire  necessity  !  The  candle  flamed  and  flickered 
in  the  land-breeze  that  swept  through  the  house, 
—  unctuous  waxen  stalactites  decorated  it  almost 
past  recognition  ;  the  crickets  sang  lustily  at  the 


246  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

doorway  ;  the  little  natives  grew  sleepy  and  curled 
up  on  their  mats  in  the  corner ;  Kahele  slept  in 
his  spurs  like  a  born  muleteer.  And  now  a  sud- 
den conviction  seized  us  that  it  was  bedtime  in 
very  truth  ;  so  mon  pere  led  me  to  one  of  the  cells, 
saying,  "  Will  yon  sleep  in  the  room  of  Pere 
Amabilis  *? "  Yea,  verily,  with  all  humility  \  and 
there  I  slept  after  the  benediction,  during  which 
the  young  priest's  face  looked  almost  like  an 
angel's  in  its  youthful  holiness,  and  I  was  afraid  I 
might  wake  in  the  morning  and  find  him  gone, 
transported  to  some  other  and  more  lovely  world. 

But  I  did  n't.  Pere  Fidelis  was  up  before  day- 
break. It  was  his  hand  that  clashed  the-  joyful 
Angelus  at  sunrise  that  woke  me  from  my  happy 
dream  ;  it  was  his  hand  that  prepared  the  frugal 
but  appetizing  meal ;  he  made  the  coffee,  such 
rich,  black,  aromatic  coffee  as  Frenchmen  alone 
have  the  faculty  of  producing.  He  had  an  eye  to 
the  welfare  of  the  animals  also,  and  seemed  to  be 
commander-in-chief  of  affairs  secular  as  well  as 
ecclesiastical ;  yet  he  was  so  young  ! 

There  was  a  day  of  brief  incursions  mountain- 
ward,  with  the  happiest  results.  There  were  wel- 
comes showered  upon  me  for  his  sake ;  he  was 
ever  ministering  to  my  temporal  wants,  and  puz- 
zling me  with  dissertations  in  assorted  languages. 

By  happy  fortune  a  Sunday  followed  when  the 
Chapel  of  the  Palms  was  thronged  with  dusky 
worshippers ;  not  a  white  face  present  but  the  fa- 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  PALMS.     247 

ther's  and  mine  own,  yet  a  common  trust  in  the 
blessedness  of  the  life  to  come  struck  the  key-note 
of  universal  harmony,  and  we  sang  the  Magnificat 
with  one  voice.  There  was  something  that  fretted 
me  in  all  this  admirable  experience  :  Pere  Fidelis 
could  touch  neither  bread  nor  water  until  after 
the  last  mass.  Hour  by  hour  he  grew  paler  and 
fainter,  spite  of  the  heroic  fortitude  that  sustained 
his  famishing  body. 

"Mon  pere"  said  I,  "you  must  eat,  or  go  to 
heaven  betimes."  He  would  not.  "  You  must 
end  with  an  earlier  mass,"  I  persisted.  It  was 
impossible  :  many  parishioners  came  from  miles 
away  ;  some  of  these  started  at  daybreak,  as  it 
was,  and  they  would  be  unable  to  arrive  in  season 
for  an  earlier  mass.  Excellent  martyr !  thought 
I,  to  offer  thy  body  a  living  sacrifice  for  the  edifi- 
cation of  these  savage  Christians  !  At  last  he 
ate,  but  not  until  appetite  itself  had  perished. 
Then  troops  of  children  gathered  about  him  clam- 
oring to  kiss  the  hand  of  the  priestly  youth ;  old 
men  and  women  passed  him  with  heads  uncovered, 
amazed  at  the  devotion  of  one  they  could  not 
hope  to  emulate. 

Whenever  I  referred  to  his  life,  he  at  once  led 
me  to  admire  his  fellow-apostle,  who  was  continu- 
ally in  his  thoughts.  Pere  Amabilis  was  miles 
away,  repairing  a  chapel  that  had  suffered  some- 
what in  a  late  gale ;  Pere  Amabilis  would  be  so 
glad  to  see  me  :  I  must  not  fail  to  visit  him ;  and 


248  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

for  fear  of  some  mischance,  Pere  Fidelis  would 
himself  conduct  me  to  him. 

The  way  was  hard, —  deep  chasms  to  penetrate, 
swift  streams  to  be  forded,  narrow  and  slippery 
trails  to  be  threaded  through  forest,  swamp,  and 
wilderness.  These  obstacles  separated  the  devot- 
ed friends,  but  not  for  long  seasons.  Pere  Fide- 
lis would  go  to  him  whom  he  had  not  laid  eyes  on 
for  a  fortnight  at  least. 

The  boy  Kahele  was  glad  of  companionship  ; 
one  of  the  small  fishers,  an  acolyte  of  the  chapel, 
would  accompany  us,  and  together  they  could  lag 
behind,  eating  ohias  and  dabbling  in  every  stream. 

A  long  day's  journey  followed.  We  wended 
our  way  through  jungles  of  lauhala,  with  slim 
roots  in  the  air  and  long  branches  trailing  about 
them  like  vines ;  they  were  like  great  cages  of 
roots  and  branches  in  a  woven  snarl.  We  saw  a 
rocky  point  jutting  far  into  the  sea.  "  Pere 
Amabilis  dwells  just  beyond  that  cape,"  said  my 
companion,  fondly  ;  and  it  seemed  not  very  far  dis- 
tant ;  but  our  pace  was  slow  and  wearisome,  and 
the  hours  were  sure  to  distance  us.  We  fath- 
omed dark  ravines  whose  farther  walls  were  but  a 
stone's  throw  from  us,  but  in  whose  profound 
depths  a  swift  torrent  rushed  madly  to  the  sea, 
threatening  to  carry  us  to  our  destruction, —  green, 
precipitous  troughs,  where  the  tide  of  mountain- 
rain  was  lashed  into  fury,  and  with  its  death-song 
drowned  our  voices  and  filled  our  animals  with 
terror. 


THE   CHAPEL    OF   THE  PALMS.  249 

Now  and  then  we  paused  to  breathe,  man  and 
beast  panting  with  fatigue  ;  sometimes  the  rain 
drove  us  into  the  thick  wood  for  shelter ;  some- 
times a  brief  deluge,  the  offspring  of  a  rent  cloud 
at  the  head  of  the  ravine,  stayed  our  progress  for 
half  an  hour,  until  its  volume  was  somewhat 
spent  and  the  stream  wras  again  fordable.  Here 
we  talked  of  the  daily  miracles  in  nature.  Again 
and  again  the  young  fathers  are  called  forth  into  the 
wilderness  to  attend  on  the  sick  and  dying.  Little 
chapels  are  hidden  ciway  among  the  mountains 
and  through  the  valleys  ;  all  these  must  be  visit- 
ed in  turn.  Their  life  is  an  actual  pilgrimage 
from  chapel  to  chapel,  which  nothing  but  physical 
inability  may  interrupt. 

At  one  spot  I  saw  a  tree  under  which  Pere  Fi- 
delis  once  passed  a  tempestuous  night.  On  either 
side  yawned  a  ravine  swept  by  an  impassable 
flood.  There  were  no  houses  within  reach.  On 
the  soaked  earth,  with  a  pitiless  gale  sweeping 
over  the  land,  from  sunset  to  sunrise  he  lay  with- 
out the  consolation  of  one  companion.  Food  was 
frequently  scarce  :  a  few  limpets,  about  as  pala- 
table as  parboiled  shoe-leather,  a  paste  of  roast 
yams  and  water,  a  lime  perhaps,  and  nothing  be- 
sides but  lumpy  salt  from  the  sea-shore. 

While  we  were  riding,  a  herald  met  us  bearing  a 

letter  for  mon  pere.     It  was  a  greeting  from   Pere 

Amabilis,  who  announced  the    chapel    as   rapidly 

nearing    its    complete    restoration.     Pere    Fidelis 

11* 


250  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

fairly  wept  for  joy  at  this  intelligence,  and  burst 
into  a  panegyric  upon  the  unrivalled  ingenuity  of 
his  spiritual  associate.  We  were  sure  to  surprise 
him  at  work,  and  this  trifling  episode  seemed  to 
be  an  event  of  some  importance  in  the  isolated 
life  they  led. 

At  sunset  we  passed  into  the  open  vale  of  Wai- 
luanui,  and  saw  the  chapel  looking  fresh  and  tidy 
on  the  slope  of  the  hill  toward  the  sea.  Two 
waterfalls  that  fell  against  the  sunset  flashed  like 
falling  flame,  and  a  soft  haze  tinged  the  slumber- 
ous solitudes  of  wood  and  pasture  with  the  dream- 
like loveliness  of  a  picture.  There  seemed  to  be 
but  one  sound  audible,  —  the  quick,  sharp  blows 
of  a  hammer.  Pere  Fidelis  listened  with  eyes 
sparkling,  and  then  rode  rapidly  onward. 

Behold  !  from  the  chapel  wall,  high  up  on  a 
scaffolding  of  boughs,  his  robes  gathered  about 
him,  his  head  uncovered  and  hammer  in  hand, 
Pere  Amabilis  leaned  forth  to  welcome  us.  The 
hammer  fell  to  the  earth.  Pere  Amabilis  loosened 
his  skirts  and  clasped  his  hands  in  unaffected  rap- 
ture. We  were  three  satisfied  souls,  asking  for 
nothing  beyond  the  hem  of  that  lonely  valley  in 
the  Pacific. 

Of  course  there  was  the  smallest  possible  house 
that  could  be  lived  in,  for  our  sole  accommodation, 
because  but  one  priest  needed  to  visit  the  district 
at  a  time,  and  a  very  young  priest  at  that.  A 
tiny  bed  in  one  corner  of  the  room  was  thought 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  THE  PALMS.     251 

sufficient,  together  with  two  plates,  two  cups,  and 
a  single  spoon.  Luxuries  were  unknown  and  un- 
regretted. 

"Well,  father,  what  have  you  at  this  hotel]" 
said  Pere  Fidelis  as  we  came  to  the  door  of  the 
cubby-house. 

"Water,"  replied  our  host  with  a  grave  tone 
that  had  an  undercurrent  of  truth  in  it. 

But  we  were  better  provided  for.  Within  an 
hour's  time  a  reception  took  place  :  native  parish- 
ioners came  forth  to  welcome  Pere  Fidelis  and  the 
stranger,  each  bringing  some  voluntary  tribute,  — 
a  fish,  a  fowl  lean  enough  to  quiet  the  conscience 
of  Pere  Fidelis,  an  egg  or  two,  or  a  bunch  of  taro. 

Long  talks  followed ;  the  news  of  the  last 
month  was  discussed  with  much  enthusiasm,  and 
some  few  who  had  no  opportunity  of  joining  in  the 
debate  gave  expression  to  their  sentiments  through 
such  speaking  eyes  as  savages  usually  are  pos- 
sessed of. 

The  welcome  supper-hour  approached.  Will- 
ing hands  dressed  a  fowl ;  swift  feet  plied  between 
the  spring  and  the  kettle  swung  over  the  open 
camp-fire  ;  children  danced  for  very  joy  before  the 
door  of  the  chapel,  under  the  statue  of  the  Vir- 
gin, whose  head  was  adorned  with  a  garland  of 
living  flowers.  The  shadows  deepened ;  stars 
seemed  to  cluster  over  the  valley  and  glow  with 
unusual  fervor ;  the  crickets  sang  mightily,  — 
they  are  always  singing  mightily  over  yonder; 


252  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

supper  camo  to  the  bare  table  with  its  meagre  ar- 
ray of  dishes;  and,  since  J  was  forced  to  have  u 
whole  plate  and  a  bowl,  as  well  as  the  sol  it; try 
spoon,  for  my  sole  use,  the  two  young  priests  ate 
together  from  the  same  dish  and  drank  from  the 
same  cup,  and  were  as  grateful  and  happy  as  the 
birds  of  the  air  under  similar  circumstances. 

A  merry  meal,  that !  For  us  no  weak  tea, 
that  satirical  consoler,  nor  tea  whoso  strength  is 
bitterness,  an  abomination  to  the  faithful,  but 
mon  pdre's  own  coffee,  the  very  aroma  of  which 
was  invigorating ;  and  then  our  friendly  pipes  out 
under  the  starlight,  where  we  sat  chatting  amica- 
bly, with  our  three  heads  turbaued  in  an  aromatic 
Virginian  cloud. 

I  learned  something  of  the  life  of  these  two 
friends  during  that  social  evening.  Born  in  the 
same  city  in  the  north  of  Franco,  reared  in  the 
same  schools,  graduated  from  the  same  university, 
each  fond  of  life  and  acquainted  with  its  follies, 
each  in  turn  stricken  with  an  illness  that  threat- 
ened death,  together  they  came  out  of  the  dark 
valley  with  their  future  consecrated  to  the  work 
that  now  absorbs  them,  the  friendship  of  their 
childhood  increasing  with  their  years  and  sustain- 
ing them  in  a  remote  land,  where  their  vow  of 
poverty  seems  almost  like  a  sarcasm,  since  r.imnn 
stance  deprives  them  of  all  luxuries. 

"  Do  you  never  long  for  homo  1  do  you  never  re- 
gret your  vow  ? "  I  asked. 


/'///;   CHAPEL   OF   THE  PALMS.  253 

"  Never  !  "  they  answered  ;  and  I  believe  them. 
"These  old  people  are  as  parents  to  us;  these 
younger  ones  are  as  brothers  and  sisters;  these 
children  \ve  love  as  dearly  as  though  they  were 
our  own.  What  more  can  we  ask1?" 

What  more,  indeed'?  With  the  rain  beating 
down  upon  your  unsheltered  heads,  and  the  tor- 
rents threatening  to.  ingulf  you;  faint  with  jour- 
neyings  ;  anhungered  often;  weak  with  fastings; 
pallid  with  prayer,  —  what  more  can  you  ask  in  the 
same  line  'I  say  I. 

Pere  Fidelis  coughed  a  little,  and  was  some- 
what feverish.  I  could  see  that  his  life  was  not 
elastic  :  his  strength  was  even  then  failing  him. 

"  P£ro  Amabilis  is  an  artisan:  he  built  this 
house,  and  it  is  small  enough ;  but  some  day 
he  will  build  a  house  for  mo  but  six  foot  long  and 
so  broad,"  said  Pore  Fidelis,  shrugging  his  shoul- 
ders ;  whereat  Pere  Amabilis,  who  looked  like  a 
German  student  with  his  long  hair  and  spectacles, 
turned  aside  to  wipe  the  moisture  from  the  lenses, 
and  said  nothing,  but  laid  his  hand  significantly 
upon  the  shoulder  of  his  friend,  as  if  imploring 
silence.  Alas  for  him  when  those  lips  arc  silent 
forever ! 

I  wondered  if  they  had  no  recreation. 

"  0  yes.  The  poor  pictures  at  the  Chapel  of 
the  Palms  are  ours,  but  we  have  not  studied  art. 
And  then  we  are  sometimes  summoned  to  the  far- 
ther side  of  the  island,  where  we  meet  new  faces. 
It  is  a  great  change." 


254  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

For  a  year  before  the  arrival  of  Pere  Amabilis, 
who  was  not  sooner  able  to  follow  his  friend,  Pere 
Fidelis  was  accustomed  to  go  once  a  month  to  a 
confessional  many  miles  away.  That  his  absence 
might  be  as  brief  as  possible,  he  was  obliged  to 
travel  night  and  day.  Sometimes  he  would  reach 
the  house  of  his  confessor  at  midnight,  when  all 
were  sleeping :  thereupon  would  follow  this  singu- 
lar colloquy  in  true  native  fashion.  A  rap  at  the 
door  at  midnight,  the  confessor  waking  from  his 
sleep. 

Confessor.     "  Who 's  there  1 " 

Pere  Fidelis.'  "It  is  I !  " 

Conf.    "Who  is  I  ?  " 

Pere  F.     "  Fidelis  !  " 

Conf.     "  Fidelis  who  ]" 

Pere  F.  "  Fidelis  kahuna  pule  !  "  (Fidelis  the 
priest.) 

Conf.  "Aweh!"  (An  expression  of  the  greatest 
surprise.)  "Entre,  Fidelis  kahuna  pule." 

Then  he  would  rise,  and  the  communion  that 
followed  must  have  been  most  cheering  to  both, 
for  mon  pere  even  now  is  merry  when  he  recalls  it. 

These  pilgrimages  are  at  an  end,  for  the  two 
priests  confess  to  one  another :  conceive  01*  the 
fellowship  that  hides  away  no  secret,  however 
mortifying ! 

The  whole  population  must  have  been  long 
asleep  before  we  thought  of  retiring  that  night, 
and  then  arose  an  argument  concerning  the  fittest 


THE    CHAPEL    OF   THE  PALMS  255 

occupant  of  the  solitary  bed.  It  fell  to  me,  for 
both  were  against  me,  and  each  was  my  superior. 
When  I  protested,  they  held  up  their  fingers  and 
said,  "  Eemember,  we  are  your  fathers  and  must 
bs  obeyed."  Thus  I  was  driven  to  the  bed,  while 
mine  hosts  lay  on  the  bare  floor  with  saddles  for 
pillows. 

It  was  this  self-sacrificing  hospitality  that  has- 
tened my  departure.  I  felt  earth  could  offer  me 
no  nobler  fellowship,  — that  all  acts  to  come,  how- 
ever gracious,  would  bear  a  tinge  of  selfishness  in 
comparison  with  the  reception  I  had  met  where 
least  expected. 

I  am  thankful  that  I  had  not  the  heart  to  sleep 
well,  for  I  think  I  could  never  have  forgiven  my- 
self had  I  done  so.  When  I  woke  in  the  early 
part  of  the  night,  I  saw  the  young  priests  bowed 
over  their  breviaries,  for  I  had  delayed  the  accus- 
tomed offices  of  devotion,  and  they  were  fulfilling 
them  in  peace  at  last,  having  me  so  well  bestowed 
that  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  do  aught  else  for 
my  entertainment. 

Once  more  the  morning  came.  I  woke  to  find 
Pere  Amabilis  at  work,  hammer  in  hand,  sending 
his  nails  home  with  accurate  strokes  that  spoke 
well  for  his  trained  muscle.  Pere  Fideliswas  con- 
cocting coffee  and  directing  the  volunteer  cooks, 
who  were  seeking  to  surpass  themselves  upon  this 
last  meal  we  were  to  take  together.  In  an  hour 
mon  pere  was  to  start  for  the  Chapel  of  the  Palms, 


256  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

while  I  wended  my  way  onward  through  a  new 
country,  bearing  with  me  the  consoling  memory 
of  my  precious  friends.  I  can  forgive  a  slight  and 
forget  the  person  who  slights  me,  but  little  kind- 
nesses probe  me  to  the  quick.  I  wonder  why  the 
twin  fathers  were  so  very  careful  of  me  that  morn- 
ing? They  could  not  do  enough  to  satisfy  them- 
selves, and  that  made  me  miserable  ;  they  stabbed 
me  with  tender  words,  and  tried  to  be  cheerful 
with  such  evident  effort  that  I  could  n't  eat 
half  my  breakfast,  though,  as  it  was,  I  ate  more 
than  they  did  —  God  forgive  me  !  — and  altogeth- 
er it  was  a  solemn  and  a  memorable  meal. 

A  group  of  natives  gathered  about  us  seated 
upon  the  floor  ;  it  was  impossible  for  Pere  Fidelis 
to  move  without  being  stroked  by  the  affection- 
ate creatures  who  deplored  his  departure.  Pere 
Amabilis  insisted  upon  adjusting  our  saddles,  dur- 
ing which  ceremony  he  slyly  hid  a  morsel  of  cold 
fowl  in  our  saddle-bags. 

That  parting  was  as  cruel  as  death.  We  shall 
probably  never  see  one  another  again ;  if  we  do, 
we  shall  be  older  and  more  practical  and  more 
worldly,  and  the  exquisite  confidence  we  have  in 
one  another  will  have  grown  blunt  with  time.  I 
felt  it  then  as  I  know  it  now,  —  our  brief  idyl 
can  never  be  lived  over  in  this  life. 

Well,  we  departed:  the  corners  of  our  blessed 
triangle  were  spread  frightfully.  Pere  Fidelis  was 
paler  than  ever ;  he  caught  his  breath  as  though 


THE   CHAPEL   OF   THE  PALMS.  257 

there  was  n't  much  of  it,  and  the  little  there  was 
would  n't  last  long ;  Pere  Amabilis  wiped  his 
spactacles  and  looked  utterly  forsaken  ;  the  na- 
tives stood  about  in  awkward,  silent  groups,  com- 
ing forward,  one  by  one,  to  shake  hands,  and  then 
falling  back  like  so  many  automatons.  Somehow, 
genuine  grief  is  never  graceful :  it  forgets  to  pose 
itself;  its  muscles  are  perfectly  slack  and  unre- 
liable. 

The  sea  looked  gray  and  forbidding  as  it  shook 
its  shaggy  breakers  under  the  cliff:  life  was 
dismal  enough.  The  animals  were  unusually  way- 
ward, and  once  or  twice  I  paused  in  despair  under 
the  prickly  sunshine,  half  inclined  to  go  back  and 
bagin  over  again,  hoping  to  renew  the  past ;  but 
just  then  Hoke  felt  like  staggering  onward,  and 
I  began  to  realize  that  there  are  some  brief,  per- 
fect experiences  in  life  that  pass  from  us  like  a 
dream,  and  this  was  one  of  them. 

In  the  proem  to  this  idyl  I  seem  to  see  two 
shadowy  figures  passing  up  and  down  over  a  lone- 
some land.  Fever  and  famine  do  not  stay  them  : 
the  elements  alone  have  power  to  check  their  pil- 
grimage. Their  advent  is  hailed  with  joyful  bells  : 
tears  fall  when  they  depart.  Their  paths  are 
peace.  Fearlessly  they  battle  with  contagion,  and 
are  at  hand  to  close  the  pestilential  lips  of  un- 
clean death.  They  have  lifted  my  soul  above 
things  earthly,  and  held  it  secure  for  a  moment. 
From  beyond  the  waters  my  heart  returns  to 

Q 


258  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

them.  Again  at  twilight,  over  the  still  sea,  floats 
the  sweet  Angelas ;  again  I  approach  the  chapel 
falling  to  slow  decay  :  there  are  fresh  mounds  in 
the  churchyard,  and  the  voice  of  wailing  is  heard 
for  a  passing  soul.  By  and  by,  if  there  is  work  to 
do,  it  shall  be  done,  and  the  hands  shall  be  folded, 
for  the  young  apostles  will  have  followed  in  the 
silent  footsteps  of  their  flock.  Here  endeth  the 
lesson  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Palms. 


KAHELE. 

ROM  a  bluff,  whose  bald  forehead  jutted 
a  thousand  feet  into  the  air,  and  under 
whose  chin  the  sea  shrugged  its  great 
shoulders,  Kahele,  my  boy,  —  that  delightful  con- 
tradiction, who  was  always  plausible,  yet  never 
right,  —  Kahele  and  I  looked  timidly  over  into  the 
sunset  valley  of  Meha.  The  "  Valley  of  Solitude  " 
it  was  called ;  albeit,  at  that  moment,  and  with 
half  an  eye,  we  counted  the  thirty  grass-lodges  of 
the  village,  and  heard  the  liquid  tongues  of  a  trio 
of  waterfalls,  that  dived  head-first  into  the  groves 
at  the  farther  end  of  the  valley,  where  the  moun- 
tain seemed  to  have  opened  its  heart  wide  enough 
to  let  a  rivulet  escape  into  the  sea.  But  the  spot 
was  a  palpable  and  living  dream,  and  no  fond  riv- 
ulet would  go  too  hastily  through  it ;  so  there  was 
a  glittering  sort  of  monogram  writ  in  water,  and 
about  it  the  village  lodges  were  clustered  in  a  very 
pleasing  disorder. 

The  trail  dropped  down  the  cliff  below  us  in, 
long,  swinging  zigzags,  and  wound  lazily  through 


260  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

the  village  ;  crossed  the  stream  at  the  ford  ;  dipped 
off  toward  the  sea,  as  though  the  beach,  shining 
like  coarse  gold,  were  a  trifle  too  lovely  to  be 
passed  without  recognition,  and  then  it  climbed 
laboriously  up  the  opposite  cliff,  and  struck  off 
into  space.  In  ten  seconds  a  bird  might  have 
spanned  the  deep  ravine,  and  caught  as  much  of 
its  loveliness  as  we  ;  but  we  were  n't  birds,  and, 
moreover,  we  had  six  legs  apiece  to  look  after,  so 
we  tipped  off  from  the  dizzy  ridge  that  overhung 
the  valley  of  Meha  to  the  north,  and  gradually  de- 
scended into  the  heat  and  silence  of  the  place,  that 
seemed  to  make  a  picture  of  itself  when  we  first 
looked  down  upon  it  from  our  eyry. 

We  found  the  floor  of  the  valley  very  solemn 
and  very  lovely,  when  we  at  last  got  down  into 
it.  Three  youngsters,  as  brown  as  berries,  and 
without  any  leaves  upon  them,  broke  loose  from 
a  banana-orchard  and  leaped  into  a  low  kou-tree 
as  we  approached.  They  were  a  little  shy  of  my 
color,  pale-faces  being  rare  in  that  vicinity.  Two 
women  who  were  washing  at  the  ford  —  and  wash- 
ing the  very  garments  they  should  have  had  upon 
their  backs  —  discovered  us,  and  plunged  into  the 
stream  with  a  refreshing  splash,  and  a  laugh 
apiece  that  was  worth  hearing,  it  was  so  genuine 
and  hearty.  Another  youngster  hurried  off  from  a 
stone-wall  like  a  startled  lizard,  and  struck  on  his 
head,  but  did  n't  cry  much,  for  he  was  too  fright- 
ened. A  large  woman  lay  at  full  length  on  a 


KAHELE.  261 

broad  mat,  spread  under  a  pandanus,  and  slept 
like  a  turtle.  I  began  to  think  there  were  noth- 
ing but  women  and  children  in  the  solitary  valley, 
but  Kahele  had  kept  an  eye  on  the  reef,  and,  with 
an  air  of  superior  intelligence,  he  assured  me  that 
there  were  many  men  living  about  there,  and  they, 
with  most  of  the  women  and  children,  were  then 
out  in  the  surf,  fishing. 

"  To  the  beach,  by  all  means  !  "  cried  I ;  and 
to  the  beach  we  hastened,  where,  indeed,  we  found 
heaps  of  cast-off  raiment,  and  a  hundred  foot- 
prints in  the  sand.  What  would  Mr.  Robinson 
Crusoe  have  said  to  that,  I  wonder  !  Across  the 
level  water,  heads,  hands,  and  shoulders,  and 
sometimes  half-bodies,  were  floating  about,  like 
the  amphibia.  We  were  at  once  greeted  with  a 
shout  of  welcome,  which  came  faintly  to  us  above 
the  roar  of  the  surf,  as  it  broke  heavily  on  the  reef, 
a  half-mile  out  from  shore.  It  was  drawing  toward 
the  hour  when  the  fishers  came  to  land,  and  we 
had  not  long  to  wait,  before,  one  after  another, 
they  came  out  of  the  sea  like  so  many  mermen 
and  mermaids.  They  were  refreshingly  innocent 
of  etiquette, —  at  least,  of  our  translation  of  it ; 
and,  with  a  freedom  that  was  amusing  as  well  as 
a  little  embarrassing,  I  was  deliberately  fingered, 
fondled,  and  fussed  with  by  nearly  every  dusky 
soul  in  turn.  "At  last,"  thought  I,  "fate  has  led 
me  beyond  the  pale  of  civilization  ;  for  this  begins 
to  look  like  the  genuine  article." 


262  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

With  uncommon  slowness,  the  mermaids  donned 
more  or  less  of  their  apparel,  a  few  preferring 
to  carry  their  robes  over  their  arms ;  for  the  air 
was  delicious,  and  ropes  of  sea-weed  are  account- 
ed full  dress  in  that  delectable  latitude.  Down 
on  the  sand  the  mermen  heaped  their  scaly  spoils, 
—  fish  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  fish  of  every  color ; 
some  of  them  throwing  somersaults  in  the  sand, 
like  young  athletes  j  some  of  them  making  wry 
faces,  in  their  last  agony  ;  some  of  them  lying  still 
and  clammy,  with  big,  round  eyes  like  smoked- 
pearl  vest-buttons  set  in  the  middle  of  -  their 
cheeks;  all  of  them  smelling  fishlike,  and  none 
of  them  looking  very  tempting.  Small  boys  laid 
hold  on  small  fry,  bit  their  heads  off,  and  held  the 
silver-coated  morsels  between  their  teeth,  like  ani- 
mated sticks  of  candy.  There  was  a  Friday ish  and 
Lent-like  atmosphere  hovering  over  the  spot,  and 
I  turned  away  to  watch  some  youths  who  were 
riding  surf-boards  not  far  distant, —  agile,  narrow- 
hipped  youths,  with  tremendous  biceps  and  proud, 
impudent  heads  set  on  broad  shoulders,  like  young 
gods.  These  were  the  flower  and  chivalry  of  the 
Meha  blood,  and  they  swam  like  young  porpoises, 
every  one  of  them. 

There  was  a  break  in  the  reef  before  us  ;  the 
sea  knew  it,  and  seemed  to  take  special  delight  in 
rushing  upon  the  shore  as  though  it  were  about  to 
devour  sand,  savages,  and  everything.  Kahele 
and  I  watched  the  surf-swimmers  for  some  time, 


KAHELE.  263 

charmed  with  the  spectacle.  Such  buoyancy  of 
material  matter  I  had  never  dreamed  of.  Kahele, 
though  much  in  the  flesh,  could  not  long  resist 
the  temptation  to  exhibit  his  prowess,  and  having 
been  offered  a  surf-board  that  would  have  made  a 
good  lid  to  his  coffin,  and  was  itself  as  light  as 
cork  and  as  smooth  as  glass,  suddenly  threw  off 
his  last  claim  to  respectability,  seized  his  sea-sled, 
and  dived  with  it  under  the  first  roller  which  was 
then  about  to  break  above  his  head,  not  three  feot 
from  him.  Beyond  it,  a  second  roller  reared  its 
awful  front,  but  he  swam  under  that  with  ease  ; 
at  the  sound  of  his  "  open  sesame,"  its  emerald 
gates  parted  and  closed  after  him.  He  seemed 
some  triton,  playing  with  the  elements,  and  dread- 
fully "  at  home  "  in  that  very  wet  place.  The 
third  and  mightiest  of  the  waves  was  gathering  its 
strength  for  a  charge  upon  the  shore.  Having 
reached  its  outer  ripple,  again  Kahele  dived  and 
reappeared  on  the  other  side  of  the  watery  hill, 
balanced  for  a  moment  in  the  glassy  hollow,  turned 
suddenly,  and,  mounting  the  towering  monster, 
he  lay  at  full  length  on  his  fragile  raft,  using  his 
arms  as  a  bird  its  pinions, —  in  fact,  soaring  for  a 
moment  with  the  wave  under  him.  As  it  rose,  he 
climbed  to  the  top  of  it,  and  there,  in  the  midst 
of  foam  seething  like  champagne,  on  the  crest 
of  a  rushing  sea-avalanche  about  to  crumble  and 
dissolve  beneath  him,  his  surf-board  hidden  in 
spume,  on  the  very  top  bubble  of  all,  Kahela 


264  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

danced  like  a  shadow.  He  leaped  to  his  feet  and 
swam  in  the  air,  another  Mercury,  tiptoeing  a 
heaven-kissing  hill,  buoyant  as  vapor,  and  with  a 
suggestion  of  invisible  wings  about  him, —  Kahele 
transformed  for  a  moment,  and  for  a  moment 
only  ;  the  next  second  my  daring  sea-skater  leaped 
ashore,  with  a  howling  breaker  swashing  at  his 
heels.  It  was  something  glorious  and  almost  in- 
credible ;  but  I  saw  it  with  my  own  eyes,  and  I 
wanted  to  double  his  salary  on  the  spot. 

Sunset  in  the  valley  of  Meha.  The  air  full  of 
floating  particles,  that  twinkled  like  diamond-dust ; 
the  great  green  chasm  at  the  head  of  the  valley 
illuminated  by  one  broad  bar  of  light  shot  ob- 
liquely through  it,  tipped  at  the  end  with  a  show- 
er of  white  rockets  that  fringed  a  waterfall,  and  a 
fragment  of  rainbow  like  a  torn  banner.  That 
deep,  shadowy  ravine  seemed,  for  a  moment,  some 
mystery  about  to  be  divulged ;  but  the  light  faded 
too  soon,  and  I  never  learned  the  truth  of  it. 
The  sea  quieter  than  usual ;  very  little  sound  save 
the  rhythmical  vibration  of  the  air,  that  suggested 
flowing  waters  and  quivering  leaves  ;  the  lights 
shifted  along  the  upper  cliffs ;  a  silver-white 
tropic-bird  sailed  from  cloud  to  cloud,  swiftly  and 
noiselessly,  like  a  shooting-star.  A  delicious  mo- 
ment, but  a  brief  one  ;  soon  the  sun  was  down, 
and  the  deepening  shadows  and  gathering  cool- 
ness set  all  the  valley  astir. 

Camp-fires  were  kindled  throughout  the  village; 


KAHELE.  265 

column  after  column  of  thin  blue  smoke  ascended 
in  waving  spirals,  separating  at  the  top  in  leaf- 
shaped  clouds.  It  was  like  the  spiritual  resur- 
rection of  some  ancient  palm-grove  ;  and  when 
the  moon  rose,  a  little  later,  flooding  the  Vale  of 
Solitude  with  her  vague  light,  the  illusion  was 
perfected  ;  and  a  group  of  savages,  scenting  the 
savory  progress  of  their  supper,  sat,  hungry  and 
talkative,  under  every  ghostly  palm.  Clear  voices 
ascended  in  monotonous  and  weird  recitative  ;  they 
chanted  a  monody  on  the  death  of  some  loved 
one,  prompted,  perhaps,  by  the  funereal  solemnity 
of  the  hour;  or  sang  an  ode  to  the  moon-rise,  the 
still-flowing  river,  or  the  valley  of  Me'ha,  so  soli- 
tary in  one  sense,  though  by  no  means  alone  in  its 
loneliness. 

Kahele  patronized  me  extensively.  I  was  in- 
troduced to  camp  after  camp,  and  in  rapid  succes- 
sion repeated  the  experiences  of  a  traveller  who 
has  much  to  answer  for  in  the  way  of  color,  and 
the  peculiar  cut  of  his  garments.  I  felt  as  though 
I  was  some  natural  curiosity,  in  charge  of  the  ro- 
bustious Kahele,  who  waxed  more  and  more  offi- 
cious every  hour  of  his  engagement ;  and  his 
tongue  ran  riot  as  he  descanted  upon  my  charac- 
teristics, to  the  joy  of  the  curious  audiences  we 
attracted. 

Some  hours  must  have  passeH  before  we  thought 
of  sleep.  How  could  we  think  of  it,  when  every 
soul  was  wide  awake,  and  time  alone  seemed  to 

12 


266  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

pass  us  by  unconsciously  1  But  Kahele  finally  led 
me  to  a  chief's  house,  where,  under  coverlets  of 
kapa,  spiced  with  herbs,  and  in  the  midst  of  nu- 
merous members  of  the  household,  I  was  advised 
to  compose  my  soul  in  peace,  and  patiently  await 
daylight.  I  did  so,  for  the  drowsy  sense  that  best 
illustrates  the  tail-end  of  a  day's  journey  pos- 
sessed me,  and  I  was  finally  overcome  by  the  low, 
monotonous  drone  of  a  language  that  1  found 
about  as  intelligible  as  the  cooing  of  the  multitu- 
dinous pigeon.  The  boy  sat  near  me,  still  des- 
canting upon  our  late  experiences,  our  possible 
future,  and  the  thousand  trivial  occurrences  that 
make  the  recollections  of  travel  forever  charming. 
The  familiar  pipe,  smoked  at  about  the  rate  of 
three  whiffs  apiece,  circulated  freely,  and  kept  the 
air  mildly  flavored  with  tobacco  ;  and  night,  with 
all  that  pertains  to  it,  bowed  over  me,  as,  in  an 
unguarded  moment,  I  surrendered  to  its  narcotiz- 
ing touch. 

There  wras  another  valley  in  my  sleep,  like  unto 
the  one  I  had  closed  my  eyes  upon,  and  I  saw 
it  thronged  with  ancients.  No  white  face  had  yet 
filled  those  savage  and  sensuous  hearts  with  a  sense 
of  disgust,  which,  I  believe,  all  dark  races  feel  when 
they  first  behold  a  bleached  skin.  Again  the 
breathless  heralds  announced  the  approach  of  a 
king,  and  the  multitudes  gathered  to  receive  him. 
I  heard  the  beating  of  the  tom-toms,  and  saw  the 
dancers  ambling  and  posing  before  his  august  maj- 


KAHELE.  267 

esty,  who  reclined  in  the  midst  of  a  retinue  of  ob- 
sequious retainers.  The  spearsmen  hurled  their 
spears,  and  the  strong  men  swung  their  clubs ;  the 
stone-throwers  threw  skilfully,  and  the  sweetest 
singers  sang  long  meles  in  praise  of  their  royal  * 
guest.  A  cry  of  fear  rent  the  air  as  a  stricken 
one  fled  toward  the  city  of  refuge ;  the  priests 
passed  by  me  in  solemn  procession,  their  robes 
spotted  with  sacrificial  blood.  War-canoes  drew 
in  from  the  sea,  and  death  fell  upon  the  valley.  I 
heard  the  wail  for  the  slaughtered,  and  saw  the 
grim  idols  borne  forth  in  the  arms  of  the  trium- 
phant ;  then  I  awoke  in  the  midst  of  that  dream- 
pageant  of  savage  and  barbaric  splendor. 

It  was  still  night ;  the  sea  was  again  moaning ; 
the  cool  air  of  the  mountain  rustled  in  the  long 
thatch  at  the  doorway;  a  ripe  bread-fruit  fell  to 
the  earth  with  a  low  thud.  I  rose  from  my  mat 
and  looked  about  me.  The  room  was  nearly  de- 
serted ;  some  one  lay  swathed  like  a  mummy 
in  a  dark  corner  of  the  lodge,  but  of  what  sex  I 
knew  not,  —  probably  one  who  had  outlived  all 
sensations,  and  perhaps  all  desires  ;  a  rush,  strung 
full  of  oily  kukui  nuts,  flamed  in  the  centre  of  the 
room,  and  a  thread  of  black  smoke  climbed  almost 
to  the  peak  of  the  roof;  but,  falling  in  with  a  car- 
rent  of  fresh  air,  it  was  spirited  away  in  a  mo- 
ment. 

I  looked  out  of  the  low  door  :  the  hour  was 
such  a  one  as  tinges  the  stoutest  heart  with  su- 


268  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

perstition ;  the  landscape  was  complete  in  two 
colors, —  a  moist,  transparent  gray,  and  a  thin, 
feathery  silver,  that  seemed  almost  palpable  to  the 
touch.  Out  on  the  slopes  near  the  stream  re- 
clined groups  of  natives,  chatting,  singing,  smok- 
ing, or  silently  regarding  the  moon.  I  passed  them 
unnoticed  ;  dim  paths  led  me  through  guava  jun- 
gles, under  orange-groves,  and  beside  clusters  of 
jasmine,  overpowering  in  their  fragrance.  Against 
the  low  eaves  of  the  several  lodges  sat  singers, 
players  upon  the  rude  instruments  of  the  land, 
and  glib  talkers,  who  waxed  eloquent,  and  gesticu- 
lated with  exceeding  grace.  Footsteps  rustled  be- 
fore and  behind  me  ;  I  stole  into  the  thicket,  and 
saw  lovers  wandering  together,  locked  in  each 
other's  embrace,  and  saw  friends  go  hand-in-harid 
conversing  in  low  tones,  or  perhaps  mute,  with  an 
impressive  air  of  the  most  complete  tranquillity. 
The  night-blooming  cereus  laid  its  ivory  urn  open 
to  the  moonlight,  and  a  myriad  of  crickets  chirped 
in  one  continuous  jubilee.  Voices  of  merriment 
were  wafted  down  to  me  ;  and,  stealing  onward 
toward  the  great  meadow  by  the  stream,  where 
the  sleepless  inhabitants  of  the  valley  held 
high  carnival,  I  saw  the  most  dignified  chiefs  of 
Meha  sporting  like  children,  while  the  children  ca- 
pered like  imps,  and  the  whole  community  seemed 
bewitched  with  the  glorious  atmosphere  of  that 
particular  night. 

Who  was  the  gayest  of  the  gay,  and  the  most 


KAHELE.  269 

lawless  of  the  unlawful  1  My  boy,  Kahele,  in 
whom  I  had  placed  my  trust,  and  whom,  until  this 
hour  at  least,  I  had  regarded  as  a  most  promis- 
ing specimen  of  the  reorganized  barbarians. 

Perhaps  it  was  all  right ;  perhaps  I  had  been 
counting  his  steps  with  too  much  confidence  ;  they 
might  have  been  simply  a  creditable  performance, 
the  result  of  careful  training  on  the  part  of  his  tu- 
tors. I  am  inclined  to  think  they  were  !  At  any 
rate,  Kahele  went  clean  back  to  barbarism  that 
night,  and  seemed  to  take  to  it  amazingly.  I  said 
nothing ;  I  thought  it  wiser  to  seem  to  hold  the 
reins,  though  I  held  them  loosely,  than  to  try  to 
check  the  career  of  my  half-tamed  domestic,  and 
to  find  him  beyond  my  control ;  therefore  I  sat  on 
one  side  taking  notes,  and  found  it  rather  jolly  on 
the  whole. 

The  river  looked  like  an  inky  flood  with  a  bro- 
ken silver  crust ;  canoes  floated  upon  its  sluggish 
tide  like  long  feathers  ;  swimmers  plied  up  and 
down  it,  now  and  then  "  blowing,"  whale-fashion, 
but  slipping  through  the  water  as  noiselessly  as 
trout.  I  could  scarcely  tell  which  was  the  more 
attractive, —  Nature,  so  fragrant  and  so  voluptu- 
ous, or  man,  who  had  become  a  part  of  Nature  for 
the  hour,  and  was  very  unlike  man  as  I  had  been 
taught  to  accept  him. 

Not  till  dawn  did  the  dance  or  the  song  cease ; 
not  till  everybody  was  gray  and  fagged,  and 
tongues  had  stopped  wagging  from  sheer  exhaus- 


270  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

tion.  I  returned  to  my  mats  long  ere  that,  to  re- 
volve in  my  mind  plans  for  the  following  day. 

It  was  evident  that  Kahele  must  at  once  quit 
the  place,  or  go  back  to  barbarism  and  stick  there. 
I  did  n't  care  to  take  the  responsibility  of  his  re- 
turn to  first  principles,  and  so  ordered  the  animals 
saddled  by  sunrise.  At  that  delicious  moment, 
the  youngster  lay  like  one  of  the  Seven  Sleepers, 
whom  nothing  could  awaken.  Everybody  in  the 
village  seemed  to  be  making  up  his  lost  sleep,  and 
I  was  forced  to  await  the  return  of  life  before  press- 
ing my  claims  any  further. 

The  scorching  noon  drew  on ;  a  few  of  the 
sleepers  awoke,  bathed,  ate  of  their  cold  repast, 
and  slept  again.  Kahele  followed  suit;  in  the 
midst  of  his  refreshment,  I  suggested  the  advisa- 
bility of  instant  departure ;  he  hesitated.  I  en- 
larged upon  the  topic,  and  drew  an  enticing  pic- 
ture of  the  home-stretch,  with  all  the  endearing 
associations  clustering  about  its  farther  end ;  he 
agreed  to  everything  with  a  sweet  and  passive 
grace  that  seemed  to  compensate  me  for  the  vexa- 
tions of  the  morning. 

I  went  to  the  river  lo  bathe  while  the  beasts 
were  being  saddled,  and  returned  anon  to  find 
Kahele  sound  asleep,  and  as  persistent  in  his 
slumbers  as  ever.  The  afternoon  waned  ;•  I  began 
to  see  the  fitness  of  the  name  that  had  at  first 
seemed  to  me  inappropriate  to  the  valley  :  every- 
body slept  or  lazed  during  the  hot  hours  of  the 


KAHELE.  271 

day,  and  a  census-taker  might  easily  have  im- 
agined the  place  a  solitude.  At  sunset,  there  was 
more  fishing  and  more  surf-swimming.  It  seemed 
to  me  the  fish  smelt  stronger,  and  the  swimmers 
swam  less  skilfully  than  on  the  evening  previous ; 
possibly  it  was  quite  as  pretty  a  spectacle  as  the 
one  that  first  charmed  me,  but  blessings  are  bores 
when  they  come  out  of  season. 

Night  drew  on  apace ;  the  moon  rose,  and  the 
inhabitants  pretended  to  rest,  but  were  shortly 
magnetized  out  of  their  houses,  where  they  danced 
till  daybreak.  The  sweets  of  that  sort  of  thing 
began  to  cloy,  and  I  resolved  upon  immediate 
action.  Kahele  was  taken  by  the  ears  at  the  very 
next  sunrise,  and  ordered  to  get  up  the  mules  at 
once.  He  was  gone  nearly  all  day,  and  came  in 
at  last  with  a  pitiful  air  of  disappointment  that 
quite  unmanned  me  ;  his  voice,  too,  was  sympa- 
thetic, and  there  was  something  like  a  tear  in  his 
eye  when  he  assured  me  that  the  creatures  had 
gone  astray,  but  might  be  found  shortly,  —  per- 
haps even  then  they  were  approaching ;  and  the 
young  scamp  rose  to  reconnoitre,  glad,  no  doubt, 
of  an  excuse  for  escaping  from  my  natural  but 
ludicrous  discomfiture.  It  is  likely  that  my 
boy  Kahele  would  have  danced  till  doomsday, 
had  I  not  shown  spleen.  It  is  as  likely,  also, 
that  the  chief  and  all  his  people  would  have 
helped  him  out  in  it,  had  I  not  offered  such 
reward  as  I  thought  sufficient  to  tempt  their 


272  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

greed;  but,  thank  Heaven,  there  is  an  end  to 
everything  ! 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  two  travellers 
might  have  been  seen  struggling  up  the  face  of 
the  great  cliff  that  walls  in  the  valley  of  Meha  to 
the  south.  The  one  a  pale-face,  paler  than  usual, 
urging  on  the  other,  a  dark-face,  darker  than  was 
its  wont.  Never  did  animals  so  puzzle  their  wits 
to  know  whether  they  were  indeed  desired  to  has- 
ten forward,  or  to  turn  back  at  the  very  next 
crook  in  the  trail.  We  were  at  big  odds,  Kahele 
and  I ;  for  another  idol  of  mine  had  suddenly 
turned  to  clay,  and,  though  I  am  used  to  that  sort 
of  thing,  I  am  never  able  to  bear  it  with  decent 
composure.  On  we  journeyed,  working  at  cross- 
purposes,  and  getting  nearer  to  the  sky  all  the 
while,  and  finally  losing  sight  of  the  bewitching 
valley  that  had  demoralized  and  so  nearly  divorced 
us ;  getting  wet  in  the  damp  grasses  on  the  high- 
lands, and  sometimes  losing  ourselves  for  a  mo- 
ment in  the  clouds  that  lie  late  on  the  mountains  ; 
seeing  lovely,  narrow,  and  profound  vales,  where- 
in the  rain  fell  with  a  roar  like  hail ;  where  the 
streams  swelled  suddenly  like  veins,  and  where 
often  there  was  no  living  creature  discernible,  not 
even  a  bird  ;  where  silence  brooded,  and  the  world 
seemed  empty. 

A  very  long  day's  journey  brought  us  out  of 
the  green  and  fertile  land  that  lies  with  its  face  to 
the  trade-wind  ;  there  the  clouds  gather  and  shed 


KASELE.  273 

their  rains ;  but  all  of  the  earth  lying  in  the  lee 
of  the  great  central  peak  of  the  island  is  as  dust 
and  ashes,  —  un watered,  unfruitful,  and  uninter- 
esting, save  as  a  picture  of  deep  and  dreadful  des- 
olation. No  wonder  that  Kahele  longed  to  tarry 
in  the  small  Eden  of  Meha,  knowing  that  we  were 
about  to  journey  into  the  deserts  that  lie  beyond 
it.  No  wonder  that  the  shining  shores  of  the  val- 
ley beguiled  him,  when  he  knew  that  henceforth 
the  sea  would  break  upon  long  reaches  of  black 
lava,  as  unpicturesque  as  a  coal-heap,  the  path 
along  which  was  pain,  and  the  waysides  anguish 
of  spirit ;  where  fruit  was  scarce,  and  water  brack- 
ish, and  every  edible  dried  and  deceitful. 

Having  slept  the  sleep  of  the  just,  —  for  I  felt 
that  I  had  done  what  I  could  to  reclaim  my  backslid- 
ing Kahele,  —  I  awoke  on  a  sabbath  morning  that 
presented  a  singular  spectacle.  Its  chief  features 
were  a  glittering,  metallic-tinted  sea,  and  a  smok- 
ing plain  backed  by  naked  sand-hills.  The  low 
brush,  scattered  thinly  over  the  earth,  tried  hard 
to  look  green,  but  seldom  got  nearer  to  it  than  a 
dusty  gray.  Evidently  there  was  no  sap  in  those 
charred  twigs,  for  they  snapped  like  coral  when 
you  tested  their  pliancy.  A  few  huts,  dust-col- 
ored and  ragged,  were-  scattered  along  the  trail ; 
they  had  apparently  lost  all  hope,  and  paused  by 
the  wayside,  to  end  their  days  in  despair. 

The  kale-pule,  or  prayer-house,  chief  of  the  for- 
lorn huts,  by  virtue  of  extraordinary  hollowness 


274  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

and  a  ventilation  that  was  only  exceeded  by  all 
out-of-doors,  —  this  prayer-house,  or  church,  was 
thrown  open  to  the  public,  and,  to  my  amazement, 
Kahele  suggested  the  propriety  of  our  attending 
worship,  even  before  the  first  conch  had  been 
blown  from  the  rude  door  by  the  deacon  himself. 

We  went  along  the  chalky  path  that  led  to  the 
front  of  the  house,  and  sat  in  the  shelter  of  the 
eaves  for  an  hour  or  more.  Seven  times  that  conch 
was  blown,  and  on  each  occasion  the  neighborhood 
responded,  though  stingily ;  a  few  worshippers 
would  issue  out  of  the  wilderness  and  draw 
slowly  toward  us.  One  or  two  men  came  on 
horseback,  and  were  happy  in  their  mood,  ex- 
hibiting the  qualities  of  their  animals  on  the 
flats  before  us.  Some  came  on  foot,  with  their 
shoes  in  hand ;  the  shoes  were  carefully  put  on  at 
the  church  door,  but  put  off  again  a  few  moments 
after  entering  the  rustic  pews.  Dogs  came,  about 
one  for  every  human  ;  these  lay  all  over  the  floor, 
or  mounted  the  seats,  or  were  held  in  the  arms  of 
the  congregation,  as  the  case  might  be.  Children 
came  and  played  a  savage  version  of  leap-frog  in 
the  lee  of  the  church,  but  they  were  bleak-looking 
youngsters,  not  at  all  like  the  little  human  vege- 
tables that  flourished  in  the  genial  atmosphere  of 
the  valley  of  Meha. 

The  conch  was  blown  again ;  the  most  melan- 
choly sound  that  ever  issued  from  windy  cavity 
floated  up  and  down  that  disconsolate  land,  and 


KAHELE.  275 

seemed  to  be  saying,  in  pathetic  gusts,  "  Come  to 
meeting  !  Come  to  meeting  !  "  Probably  every 
one  that  could  come  had  come ;  at  any  rate 
no  one  else  followed,  and,  after  a  decent  pause, 
the  services  of  the  morning  were  begun.  The 
brief  interval  of  ominous  silence  that  preceded 
the  opening  was  enlivened  by  the  caprices  of  a 
fractious  horse,  and  at  least  two  stampedes  of 
the  canine  persuasion,  at  which  time  the  dogs 
seemed  possessed  of  devils,  and  were  running 
down  in  a  body  toward  the  sea,  but  thought 
better  of  it,  and  stole  noiselessly  back  again, 
one  after  the  other,  just  in  season  for  the  open- 
ing prayer,  to  which  they  entered  with  a  low- 
comedy  cast  of  countenance,  and  a '  depressed 
tail. 

That  prayer  bubbled  out  of  the  savage  throat 
like  a  clear  fountain  of  vowels.  The  dignity  of 
the  man  was-  impressive,  and  his  face  the  picture 
of  devotion ;  his  deportment,  likewise,  was  all  that 
could  be  desired  in  any  one,  under  the  circum- 
stances. Either  he  "was  a  rare  specimen  of  the 
very  desirable  convert  from  barbarism,  or  he  was 
a  consummate  actor ;  I  dare  not  guess  which  of  the 
two  beguiled  me  with  his  grave  and  euphonious 
prayer. 

I  regret  to  state  that,  during  the  energetic 
expounding  of  the  Scriptures,  a  few  of  the  congre- 
gation forgot  themselves  and  slept  audibly  ;  a  few 
arose  and  went  under  the  eaves  to  smoke ;  chil- 


276  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

dren  went  down  on  all-fours,  and  crawled  under 
the  pews  in  chase  of  pups  as  restless  and  incorri- 
gible as  themselves.  At  a  later  period,  some  one 
announced  an  approaching  schooner,  and  the  body 
of  the  house  was  unceremoniously  cleared,  for  a 
schooner  was  as  rare  a  visitor  to  that  part  of  the 
island  as  an  angel  to  any  quarter  of  the  globe. 
Further  ceremony  was  out  of  the  question,  at  least 
until  the  excitement  had  subsided  ;  the  parson, 
with  philosophical  composure,  precipitated  his  dox- 
ology,  and  we  all  walked  out  into  the  dreary  after- 
noon to  watch  the  schooner  blowing  in  toward 
shore. 

The  wind  was  rising ;  white  clouds  scudded 
over  us  ;  transparent  shadows  slid  under  us ;  the 
whole  earth  seemed  unstable,  and  life  scarcely 
worth  the  living.  Along  the  dead  shore  leaped 
the  sea,  in  a  careless,  dare-devil  fashion  ;  hollow 
rocks  spouted  great  mouthfuls  of-  spray  con- 
temptuously into  the  air;  columns  of  red  dust 
climbed  into  the  sky,  reeling  to  and  fro  as  they 
passed  over  the  bleak  desert  toward  the  sea  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  island.  These  dust-chimneys  . 
were  continually  moving  over  the  land  so  long  as 
the  wind  prevailed,  which  was  for  the  rest  of  that 
afternoon,  to  my  certain  knowledge.  In  fact,  the 
gale  increased  every  hour  ;  sheets  of  spray  leaped 
over  the  rocky  barriers  of  the  shore,  and  matted 
the  dry  grass,  that  hissed  like  straw  whenever  a 
fresh  gust  struck  it. 


KAHELE.  277 

One  tattered  cocoa-palm,  steadfast  in  its  mis- 
sion, though  the  living  emblem  of  a  forlorn  hope, 
wrestled  with  the  tempest  that  threw  all  its  crisp 
and  rattling  leaves  over  its  head  like  a  pompon, 
and  fretted  it  till  its  slender  neck  twisted  as 
though  it  were  being  throttled.  The  thatched 
house  seemed  about  to  go  to  pieces,  and  every  tim- 
ber creaked  in  agony  ;  yet  we  gathered  in  its  lee, 
and  awaited  the  slow  approach  of  the  schooner. 
Near  shore  she  put  about,  and  seemed  upon  the 
point  of  scudding  off  to  sea  again.  For  a  mo- 
ment our  hearts  were  in  our  throats ;  we  were  in 
danger  of  missing  the  sensation  of  the  season  : 
new  faces,  new  topics  of  conversation,  and,  perhaps, 
something  good  to  eat,  sent  thither  by  Providence, 
who  seldom  forgets  his  children  in  the  waste 
places,  though  I  wonder  that  he  lets  them  lose 
themselves  so  often. 

The  schooner  rocked  on  the  big  rollers  for  half 
an  hour  ;  a  small  boat  put  off  from  her,  with 
some  dark  objects  seated  in  it ;  out  on  the  great 
rollers  the  little  shallop  rocked,  sometimes  hidden 
from  view  by  an  intervening  wave,  sometimes 
thrown  partly  out  of  the  water  as  it  balanced  for 
a  moment  on  the  crest  of  a  breaker,  but  gradually 
drawing  in  toward  a  bit  of  beach,  where  there  was 
a  possible  chance  of  landing,  in  some  shape  or 
other.  A  few  rods  from  shore,  three  dusky  crea- 
tures deliberately  plunged  overboard  and  swam 
toward  us.  We  rushed  in  a  body  to  welcome  them, 


278  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

—  two  women,  old  residents  of  the  place,  who 
came  out  of  the  sea  wailing  for  joy  at  their  safe 
return  to  a  home 'no  more  inviting  than  the  one 
whose  prominent  features  I  have  sought  to  re- 
produce. Down  they  sat,  hot  three  feet  from  the 
water,  that  bubbled  and  hissed  along  the  coarse 
sand,  and  lifted  up  their  voices  in  pitiful  and  im- 
pressive monotones,  as  they  recounted  in  a  sav- 
agely poetic  chant  their  various  adventures  since 
they  last  looked  upon  the  beloved  picture  of  des- 
olation that  lay  about  them. 

The  third  passenger  —  a  youngster  —  came  to 
land  when  he  had  got  tired  of  swimming  for  the 
fun  of  it,  and,  once  more  upon  his  native  heath, 
he  seemed  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do  next,  but 
suffered  himself  to  be  vigorously  embraced  by 
nearly  everybody  in  sight,  after  which  he  joined 
his  companions  with  placid  satisfaction,  and  capered 
about  as  naturally  as  though  nothing  unusual  had 
happened. 

Off  into  the  windy  sea  sped  the  small  schooner, 
bending  to  the  breeze  as  though  it  were  a  perpet- 
ual miracle  that  brought  her  right-side-up  every 
once  in  a  while.  Back  to  the  deserted  prayer- 
house  our  straggling  community  wended  its  way ; 
•everything  that  had  been  said  before  was  said 
again,  with  some  embellishments.  It  was  begin- 
ning to  grow  tiresome.  I  longed  to  plunge  into 
the  desert  that  stretched  around,  seeking  some 
possible  oasis  where  the  fainting  spirit  might  re- 


KAHELE.  279 

assure  itself  that  earth  was  beautiful  and  life  a 
boon. 

Kabele  agreed  with  me  that  this  sort  of  thing 
was  growing  tiresome.  He  knew  of  a  good  place 
not  many  miles  away  ;  we  could  go  there  and 
sleep.  It  presented  a  church  and  a  good  priest, 
and  other  inducements  of  an  exceedingly  proper 
and  unexceptionable  character.  The  prospect, 
though  uninviting,  was  sufficient  to  revive  me  for 
the  moment,  and  during  that  moment  we  mount- 
ed, and  were  blown  away  on  horseback.  The 
wind  howled  in  our  ears ;  sand-clouds  peppered  us 
heavily  ;  small  pebbles  and  grit  cut  our  faces ; 
heavier  gusts  than  usual  changed  earth,  sea,  and 
sky  into  temporary  chaos.  The  day  waned,  so  did 
our  spirits,  so  did  the  life  of  our  poor  beasts.  In 
the  distance,  the  church  of  Kahele's  prophecy 
stood  out  like  a  small  rock  in  a  land  than  which  no 
land  I  wot  of  can  be  wearier.  The  sun  fell  toward 
the  sea;  the  wind  subsided,  though  it  was  still 
lusty  and  disagreeable. 

We  entered  the  church,  having  turned  our  dis- 
heartened beasts  into  paddock,  and  found  a  mea- 
gre and  late  afternoon  session,  seated  upon  mats 
that  covered  the  earthen  floor.  A  priest  strove  to 
kindle  a  flame  of  religious  enthusiasm  in  our  un- 
natural hearts,  but  I  fear  he  sought  in  vain.  The 
truth  was,  we  were  tired  to  death ;  we  needed 
wholesome  soup,  savory  meats,  and  steaming  vege- 
tables, to  humanize  us.  I  didn't  want  to  be  a 


280  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

Christian  on  an  empty  stomach.  The  wind  be- 
gan to  sigh,  'after  its  passion  was  somewhat  spent ; 
sand  sifted  over  the  matting  with  a  low  hiss  ;  and 
the  dull  red  curtains,  that  stretched  across  the  lower 
half  of  the  windows,  flapped  dolefully.  Overhead, 
the  wasps  had  hung  their  mud-baskets,  and  the 
gray  atmosphere  of  everything  was  depressing  in 
the  extreme.  Service  was  soon  over ;  the  people 
departed  across  the  windy  moors,  with  much  flut- 
tering of  gay  garments.  A  horse  stood  at  pasture, 
with  his  head  down,  his  back  to  the  wind,  and  his 
tail  glued  to  his  side,  —  a  picture  of  sublime  res- 
ignation. A  high  mound,  with  a  sandstone  sepul- 
chre built  in  the  face  of  it,  cut  off  half  of  the 
very  red  sunset,  while  a  cactus-hedge,  starred  with 
pale  pink  blossoms,  ran  up  a  low  hill,  and  made 
silhouette  pictures  against  the  sky. 

I  turned  to  watch  a  large  butterfly,  blown  over 
in  the  late  gale,  —  stranded,  as  it  were,  at  the 
church-porch,  and  too  far  gone  to  set  sail  again  ; 
a  white  sea-bird  wheeled  over  me  in  big  circles, 
and  screamed  faintly ;  something  fell  in  the 
church  with  a  loud  echo,  —  a  prayer-book,  proba- 
bly ;  and  then  the  priest  cams  out,  fastened  the 
door  of  the  deserted  sanctuary,  and  the  day's  du- 
ties were  done.  We  had  nothing  to  do  but  follow 
him  to  his  small  frame  dwelling,  where  the  one 
little  window  to  the  west  seemed  to  be  set  with 
four  panes  of  burnished  gold,  and  some  homely 
household  shrubs  in  his  garden-plat  shivered,  and 


KAHELE.  281 

blossomed  while  they  shivered,  but  looked  like  so 
many  widows  and  orphans,  the  whole  of  them. 

At  the  hospitable  board  life  began  afresh.  An- 
other day,  and  we  should  again  approach  the  bor- 
ders of  the  earthly  paradise  that  glorified  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  island.  Kahele's  eyes  sparkled  ; 
my  heart  leaped  within  me  ;  I  felt  that  there  was 
a  charm  in  living,  after  all ;  and  the  moment  was 
a  critical  one,  for  had  the  lad  begged  me  to  return 
with  him  to  the  beguilements  of  barbarism,  I 
think  it  possible  that  I  might  have  consented. 
But  he  did  n't !  He  was  the  pink  of  propriety,  and 
an  honor  to  his  progenitors.  He  said  a  brief 
grace  before  eating,  prayed  audibly  before  retiring, 
was  patient  to  the  pitch  of  stupidity,  and  amiable 
to  the  verge  of  idiocy. 

At  last,  I 'began  to  see  through  him.  Another 
four-and-twenty  hours,  and  he  would  be  restored 
to  the  arms  of  his  guardians ;  the  sweet  lanes  of 
Lahaina  would  again  blossom  before  him  ;  and  all 
that  he  thought  to  be  excellent  in  life  would  know 
him  as  it  had  known  him  only  a  few  weeks  before. 
It  was  time  that  he  had  again  begun  to  walk  the 
strait  path,  and  he  knew  it.  He  was  Kahele,  the 
two-sided ;  Kahele,  the  chameleon,  whose  charac- 
ter and  disposition  partook  of  the  color  of  his  sur- 
roundings ;  who  was  pious  to  the  tune  of  the 
church-bell,  yet  agile  as  any  dancer  of  the  lasciv- 
ious hula  at  the  thump  of  the  tom-tom.  He  was  a 
representative  worthy  of  some  consideration;  a 


282  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

typical  Hawaiian  whose  versatility  was  only  ex- 
celled by  the  plausibility  with  which  he  developed 
new  phases  of  his  kaleidoscopic  character.  He 
was  very  charming,  and  as  diverting  in  one  role  as 
another.  He  was,  moreover,  worthy  of  much 
praise  for  his  skill  in  playing  each  part  so  perfect- 
ly that  to  this  hour  I  am  not  sure  which  of  his 
dispositions  he  excelled  in,  nor  in  which  he  was 
most  at  home. 

Kahele,  adieu  !  I  might  have  upbraided  thee 
for  thy  inconstancy,  had  I  not  been  accused  of 
that  same  myself.  I  might  have  felt  some  modi- 
cum of  contempt  for  thee,  had  thy  skin  been 
white ;  but  under  the  cover  of  thy  darkness  sin 
hid  her  ugliness,  and  thy  rich  blood  leaped  to 
many  generous  actions  that  a  white-livered  syco- 
phant might  not  aspire  to.  I  can  but  forgive  all, 
and  sometimes  long  a  little  to  live  over  the  two 
sides  of  you.  —  extremes  that  met  in  your  precious 
corporosity,  and  made  me  contented  with  a  change- 
ful and  sometimes  cheerless  pilgrimage ;  for  I 
knew,  boy,  that  if  I  went  astray  you  would  meet 
me  upon  the  highest  moral  grounds ;  and,  though 
I  could  not  rely  upon  you,  somehow  you  came  to 
time  when  least  expected,  and  filled  me  with  ad- 
miration and  surprise,  —  a  sentiment  which  time 
and  absence  only  threaten  to  perpetuate. 


LOVE-LIFE   IN  A  LANAL 


T  was  the  witching  hour  of  sunset,  and 
we  sat  at  dinner  with  tearful  eyes  over 
the  Commodore's  curry.  You  see  the 
Commodore  prided  himself  on  the  strength  of  this 
identical  dish,  and  kept  a  mahogany-tinted  East- 
Indian  steward  for  the  sole  sake  of  his  skill  in 
concocting  the  same. 

We  dined,  as  usual,  in  the  Commodore's  un- 
rivalled Lanai,  —  the  very  thought  of  which  is  a 
kind  of  spiritual  feast  to  this  hour,  —  and  while 
we  sat  at  his  board  we  heard  for  the  twentieth 
time  the  monotonous  recital  of  his  adventures  by 
flood  and  field.  Like  most  sea-stories,  his  narra- 
tives were  ever  fresh,  as  though  they  had  been 
stowed  away  in  brine,  were  fished  out  of  the  vasty 
deep  expressly  for  the  occasion,  and  put  to  soak 
ao'ain  in  their  natural  element  as  soon  as  we  had 

o 

tasted  their  quality. 

The  Commodore  was  a  roaring  old  sea-dog,  who 
had  been  cast  ashore  somewhere  in  the  early  part 
of  the  century  ;  and  finding  himself  in  quarters 


284  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

more  comfortable  than  his  wildest  fancy  dared  to 
paint,  he  resolved  to  end  his  amphibious  days  on 
that  strip  of  shining  beach,  and  nevermore  lose 
sight  of  land  until  he  should  slip  his  cable  for  the 
last  time,  and  sail  into  undiscovered  seas.  Mean- 
while, he  entertained  his  friends  at  Wai-ki-ki,  a 
kind  of  tropical  Long  Branch  a  few  miles  out  of 
Honolulu  ;  and  the  grace  with  which  he  introduced 
Jack-ashore  to  the  dreamy  twilight  of  his  Lanai 
is  one  of  Jack's  deathless  memories.  We  met  the 
Commodore  in  the  interesting  character  of  Jack- 
ashore,  and  with  uncovered  heads  and  hearts  full 
of  emotion  entered  the  Lanai. 

And  now  for  a  word  to  the  uninitiated  concern- 
ing the  Lanai  in  question.  Off  there  in  the  Pa- 
cific, under  the  vertical  sun,  all  shadow  is  held  at 
a  premium.  There  are  stationary  caravans  of 
cocoa-trees,  that  seem  to  be  looking  for  their 
desert-home,  —  weird,  slender  trees,  with  tattered 
plumes,  and  a  hopeless  air  about  them,  as  though 
they  were  born  to  sorrow,  but  meant  to  make  the 
best  of  it.  Still,  these  fine  old  palms  cast  a  thin 
shadow,  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  colossal 
spider,  and  there  is  no  comfort  in  trying  to  sit  in 
it.  Of  course,  there  are  other  trees  with  more 
foliage,  and  vines  that  run  riot  and  blossom  them- 
selves to  death ;  but  somehow  the  sharp  arrows 
of  sunshine  dart  in  and  sting  a  fellow  in  an  un- 
pleasant fashion,  and  nothing  short  of  a  good 
thatch  is  to  be  relied  upon.  So  out  from  the  low 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LANAI.  285 

eaves  of  the  Commodore's  cottage,  on  the  sea- 
ward side,  there  was  a  dense  roof  of  leaves  and 
grass,  that  ran  clear  to  the  edge  of  the  sea,  and 
looked  as  though  it  wanted  to  go  farther ;  but 
the  Commodore  knew  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to 
roof  over  that  institution.  There  was  a  leafy  tap- 
estry hanging  two  feet  below  the  roof  on  the  three 
sides  thereof,  and  from  the  floor  of  the  inclosure 
rose  a  sort  of  trellis  of  woven  rushes  that  hedged 
us  in  to  the  waist.  There  was  a  wicker-gate, 
and  an  open  space  between  the  leafy  stalactite  and 
stalagmite  barricade  for  ventilation  and  view,  and 
everywhere  there  was  a  kind  of  semi-twilight  that 
seemed  crammed  full  of  dreams  and  delicious  in- 
dolence, —  and  this  is  the  Hawaiian  Lanai  ! 

Of  course,  the  Commodore  always  dined  in  his 
Lanai.  It  was  like  taking  curry  on  the  quarter- 
deck of  the  Whatyoucallher,  in  the  dead  calm  of 
the  Indian  seas ;  and  when  that  mahogany  stew- 
ard entered  with  turban  and  mock-turtle,  —  he 
always  looked  to  me  like  a  full-blooded  snake- 
charmer,  —  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  restrain- 
ing myself,  for  it  seemed  to  me  incredible  that  any 
Jack-ashore  could  dine  in  a  Lanai  with  his  Excel- 
lency, and  not  rise  between  each  savory  course  to 
make  a  dozen  profound  salaams  to  the  fattish  gen- 
tleman at  the  head  of  the  table,  who  was  literally 
covered  with  invisible  naval  buttons,  —  and  the 
hallucination  increased  as  the  dinner-courses  mul- 
tiplied. 


286  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

At  this  stage;  — just  as  the  snake-charmer  was 
entering  with  something  that  seemed  to  have  come 
to  an  untimely  end  in  wine-sauce,  —  at  this  stage 
the  Commodore  turned  to  us  as  though  he  were 
about  to  give  some  order  that  we  might  disregard 
at  the  peril  of  our  lives, — these  sea-dogs  never 
quite  outgrow  that  sort  of  thing.  "  Gentlemen," 
said  he,  casting  a  watchful  and  suspicious  eye  over 
the  weather-bow,  "  there  is  to  be  a  Luon  —  a  na- 
tive feast  —  in  the  adjoining  premises.  Will  you 
do  me  the  honor  to  accompany  me  thither  after 
we  have  lighted  our  cigars  ? " 

I  forget  what  answer  we  made ;  but  then  din- 
ner was  well  on  toward  dessert,  and  our  answer 
was  immaterial.  We  had  our  orders,  couched  in 
courteous  language,  and  we  were  thankful  for  this 
consideration  ;  moreover,  we  were  wild  to  see  a 
native  feast  !  There  is  a  peculiar  charm  in  obey- 
ing our  superiors,  when  we  happen,  by  some  dis- 
pensation of  Divine  Providence,  to  be  exactly  of 
the  same  mind. 

Black  coffee  was  offered  us,  in  cups  of  the  pat- 
tern of  gull's-eggs.  By  this  time  all  the  sky  was 
saffron,  all  the  sea  a  shadow  of  saffron,  and  in  the 
golden  haze  that  lay  between,  a  schooner  with  a 
piratical  slant  to  her  masts  swam  by,  beyond  the 
foam  that  hissed  along  the  reef.  It  was  a  wonder- 
ful picture,  but  it  came  in  between  the  courses  of 
the  Commodore's  dinner  as  though  it  were  noth- 
ing better  than  a  panel-painting  in  the  after-cabin 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LANAI.  287 

of  the  Whatyoucmllher.  However,  as  she  swung  in 
toward  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  passed  a 
bottle  of  Burgundy  in  safety,  but  seemed  in  immi- 
nent danger  of  missing  stays  abreast  of  an  enor- 
mous pyramid  of  fruit,  —  from  the  Commodore's 
point  of  sight,  you  know,  —  the  old  gentleman  lost 
his  temper  and  gave  an  order  in  such  peremptory 
terms  that  I  cheerfully  refrain  from  reproducing 
it  on  this  occasion.  To  cover  our  confusion,  we 
immediately  adjourned  to  the  native  feast. 

Hawaiian  feast-days  are  not  set  down  in  the  cal- 
endar. Somebody's  child  has  a  birthday,  or  there 
is  a  new  house  that  needs  christening;  or  per- 
haps a  church  is  in  want,  and  the  feast  can  net  a 
hundred  or  two  dollars  for  it,  —  since  all  the  eata- 
bles in  such  cases  are  donated,  and  the  eaters  en- 
ter to  the  feast  with  the  payment  of  one  dollar 
per  head.  Our  feast  was  not  sanctified ;  a  chief 
of  the  best  blood  was  in  the  humor  to  entertain 
his  friends,  countrymen,  and  lovers.  We  belonged 
to  the  first  order ;  or,  rather,  the  Commodore  was 
his  friend,  and  we  speedily  became  as  friendly  as 
possible.  As  we  entered  the  premises,  it  appeared 
to  us  that  half  the  island  was  under  cover ;  for 
limitless  Lanais  seemed  to  run  on  to  the  end  of 
time  in  bewitching  vistas.  Numberless  lanterns 
swung  softly  in  the  evening  gale.  A  multitude  of 
white-robed  native  girls  passed  to  and  fro,  with 
that  inimitable  grace  which  I  have  always  sup- 
posed Eve  copied  from  the  serpent  and  imparted 


288  SOUTH-SEA    IDYLS. 

to  her  daughters,  who  still  affect  the  modern  Edens 
of  the  earth.  Young  Hawaiian  bloods,  clad  in 
snow-white  trousers  and  ballet-shirts,  with  wreaths 
of  mailne  around  their  necks  and  ginger-flowers  in 
their  hair,  grouped  themselves  along  the  evergreen 
corridors,  and  looked  unutterable  things  without 
any  noticeable  effort  on  their  part. 

Through  the  central  corridor,  under  a  long  line 
of  lanterns,  was  spread  the  corporeal  feast,  and  on 
either  side  of  it,  in  two  ravenous  lines,  sat,  tailor- 
fashion,  the  hungry  and  the  thirsty.  It  is  useless 
to  attempt  an  idealization  of  the  Hawaiian  eater. 
He  simply  devours  whatever  suits  his  palate,  as 
though  he  were  a  packing-case  that  needed  filling, 
and  the  sooner  filled  the  more  creditable  the  per- 
formance. But  the  amount  of  filling  that  he  is 
equal  to  is  the  marvel ;  and  the  patient  persever- 
ance of  the  man,  so  long  as  there  is  a  crumb  left, 
is  something  that  I  despair  of  reconciling  with 
any  known  system  of  physiology.  The  mastica- 
tion began  early  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  eight 
p.  M.  when  we  looked  in  upon  the  orgie,  and  the 
bones  were  not  all  picked,  though  they  seemed 
likely  to  be  before  midnight. 

"  Will  you  eat  1 "  said  the  host.  It  was  not 
etiquette  to  decline,  and  we  sat  at  the  end  of  the 
Lanai,  with  nameless  dishes  strewn  about  us  in 
hopeless  confusion.  We  dipped  a  finger  into  pink 
poi,  and  took  a  pinch  of  baked  dog.  We  had  lim- 
pets with  rock-salt ;  kukui-nuts  roasted  and  pulver- 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LANAI.  289 

ized ;  and  the  pale,  quivering  bits  of  fish-flesh,  not 
an  hour  dead,  and  still  cool  with  the  native  cool- 
ness of  the  sea.  It  was  a  fishful  feast,  any  way ; 
and  not  even  the  fruits  or  the  flowers  could  en- 
tirely alleviate  the  inward  agony  consequent  upon 
a  morsel  of  raw  fish,  swallowed  to  please  our  host. 

There  was  music  at  the  farther  end  of  the  palm- 
leaf  pavilion,  and  thither  we  wanded  our  way. 
Ths  inner  court  Was  festooned  with  flags,  and  cov- 
ered with  a  large  mat.  Upon  the  mat  sat,  or  re- 
clined, several  chiefesses.  I  am  never  able  to 
account  for  the  audacious  grace  of  these  women, 
who  throw  themselves  upon  the  floor  and  stretch 
their  supple  lirnbs  like  tigresses,  with  a  kind  of 
imperial  scorn  for  your  one-horse  proprieties. 
Their  voluminous  light  garments  scarcely  con- 
cealed the  ample  curves  of  their  bodies,  and  the 
marvellous  creatures  seemed  to  be  breathing  to 
slow  music,  while  their  slumberous  eyes  regarded 
us  with  a  gentle  indifference  that  was  more  tan- 
talizing than  any  other  species  of  coquetry  that  I 
have  knowledge  of. 

At  one  side  of  the  enclosure  sat  a  group  of  mu- 
sicians, twanging  upon  native  harps,  and  beating 
the  national  calabash.  Song  after  song  was  sung, 
pipe  after  pipe  was  smoked,  and  bits  of  easy  and 
playful  conversation  filled  the  intervals.  The 
evening  waned.  The  eaters  and  drinkers  were 
still  unsatisfied,  because  the  eatables  and  drinka- 
bles were  not  exhausted ;  but  the  moon  was  high 
13  s 


290  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

and  full,  and  the  reef  moaned  most  musically,  and 
seemed  to  invite  us  to  the  shore. 

The  great  charm  of  a  native  feast  is  the  entire 
absence  of  all  formality.  Every  man  is  privileged 
to  seek  whom  his  heart  may  most  desire,  and  every 
woman  may  receive  him  or  reject  him  as  her  spirit 
prompts.  We  noticed  that  the  Commodore  was 
uneasy.  He  was  as  plump  as  a  seal,  and  the 
crowd  oppressed  him.  We  resolved  to  get  the  old 
gentleman  out  of  his  misery,  and  proposed  an  im- 
mediate adjournment  to  the  beach.  The  inner 
court  was  soon  deserted,  and  our  little  party  — 
which  now  embraced,  figuratively,  several  magni- 
ficent chiefesses,  as  well  as  the  primitive  Hawaiian 
orchestra  —  moved  in  silence  toward  the  sea.  The 
long,  curving  beach  glistened  and  sparkled  in  the 
moonlight.  The  sea,  within  the  reef,  was  like  a 
tideless  river,  from  whose  pellucid  depths,  where 
the  coral  spread  its  wilderness  of  branches,  an  un- 
earthly radiance  was  reflected.  A  fleet  of  slender 
canoes  floated  to  and  fro  upon  the  water,  and  be- 
yond them  the  creaming  reef  flashed  like  a  girdle 
of  silver,  belting  us  in  from  all  the  world. 

The  crowning  luxury  of  savage  life  is  the  multi- 
tudinous bondsman  who  anticipates  your  every 
wish,  and  makes  you  blush  at  your  own  poverty 
of  invention  by  his  suggestions  of  unimagined  joys. 
Mats — broad,  sweet,  and  clean  —  lay  under  foot, 
and  served  our  purpose  better  than  Persian  car- 
pets. The  sea  itself  fawned  at  our  feet,  and  all 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LAN  AT.  291 

the  air  was  shining  and  soft  as  though  the  moon 
had  dissolved   in  an  ecstasy,  and  nothing  but  a 
snap  of  cold   weather  could    congeal  her  again. 
Wherever    we    lay,    pillows    were    mysteriously 
slipped  under  our  heads,  and  the  willingest  hands 
in  the  world  began  an  involuntary  performance 
of  the  lomi-lomi.     Let  me  not  think  upon  the  lomi- 
lomij  for  there  is  none  of  it  within  reach  ;  but  I 
may  say  of  it,  that,  before  the  skilful  and  mag- 
netic hands  of  the  manipulator  are  folded,  every 
nerve  in  the  body  is  seized  with  an  intense  little 
spasm  of  recognition,  and  dies  happy.     A  dream- 
less sleep  succeeds,  and  this  is   followed   by  an 
awakening  into  new  life,  full  of  proud  possibilities. 
We  were  lomi-lomied  to  the   murmurs  of  the 
reef,  and  during  the  intervals  of  consciousness  saw 
an  impromptu  rehearsal  of  the  "  Naiad  Queen,"  in 
operatic  form.     The  dancing-girls,  being  somewhat 
heated,  had  plunged  into  the  sea,  and  were  com- 
plaining to  the  moon   in  a  chorus  of  fine  har- 
monies.    History  does  not  record  how  long  their 
sea-song  rang  across  the  waters.     I  know  that  we 
dozed,  and  woke  to  watch  a  silver  sail  wafted  along 
the  vague  and  shadowy  distance  like  a  phantom. 
We  slept  again,  and  woke  to  a  sense  of  silence 
broken  only  by  the  unceasing  monody  of  the  reef ; 
slept  and  woke  yet  again  in  the  waning  light,  for 
the  moon  had  sunk  to  the  ragged  rim  of  an  old 
crater,  and  seemed  to  have  a  large  piece  bitten 
out  of  her  glorious  disk.     Then  we  broke  camp  by 


292  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

the  shore,  —  for  the  air  was  a  trifle  chilly,  —  and 
withdrew  into  the  seclusion  of  the  Commodore's 
Lanaij  where  we  threw  ourselves  into  hammocks 
and  swung  until  daybreak. 

In  those  days  we  fed  on  lotus-flowers.  Jack- 
ashore  lives  for  the  hour  only,  and  the  very  air  of 
such  a  latitude  breathes  enchantment.  I  believe 
we  bathed  before  sunrise,  and  then  went  regularly 
to  bed  and  slept  till  noon.  Such  were  the  Com- 
modore's orders,  and  this  is  our  apology.  There 
was  a  breakfast  about  one  P.  M.,  at  which  we  were 
permitted  to  appear  in  undress.  The  Commodore 
set  the  example  by  inviting  us  to  the  table  in  an 
extraordinary  suit  of  cream-colored  silk,  that  was 
suggestive  of  panjamas,  but  might  have  been  some 
Oriental  regalia  especially  designed  for  morning 
wear.  He  looked  like  a  ship  under  full  sail,  rock- 
ing good-naturedly  in  a  dead  calm.  The  Commo- 
dore was  excessively  formal  at  first  sight,  —  that 
is,  just  before  breakfast,  —  bat  his  heart  warmed 
toward  mankind  in  general,  and  his  guests  in  par- 
ticular, as  the  meal  progressed.  Some  people 
never  are  themselves  until  they  have  broken  their 
fast ;  they  are  so  cranky,  and  seem  to  lack  ballast. 

The  snaky  steward  sloughed  his  clothes  twice  a 
day.  He  was  a  slim,  noiseless,  gliding  fellow  at 
breakfast,  but  he  was  positively  gorgeous  at  din- 
ner. Of  course,  the  Commodore  had  ordered  this 
nice  distinction  in  the  temporal  affairs  of  his  ser- 
vant, for  he  kept  everything  about  the  place  in 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LANAI.  293 

ship-shape,  even  to  the  flying  of  his  private  signal 
from  sunrise  to  sunset  at  the  top  of  a  tall  staff, 
that  rivalled  the  royal  ensign  floating  from  a  simi- 
lar altitude  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  His 
Majesty  has  a  summer  palace  in  Wai-ki-ki,  and  it 
has  been  whispered  that  the  Commodore  refused 
to  recognize  him,  and  never  dipped  his  colors  as 
the  King  cantered  by  in  a  light  buggy  drawn  by 
a  span  of  spanking  bays. 

After  breakfast,  the  cribbage-board  was  pro- 
duced, and  for  three  mortal  hours  the  Commodore 
kept  his  peg  on  the  steady  march.  At  cribbage 
the  old  gentleman  was  expected  to  lose  his  temper. 
Pie  stormed  with  the  arrogance  of  a  veteran  card- 
player,  than  whom  no  man  is  supposed  to  make 
himself  more  disagreeable  on  short  notice.  Lieu- 
tenant Blank  was  usually  the  victim,  but  he  de- 
served it.  The  true  story  of  Lieutenant  Blank  — 
his  name  is  suppressed  out  of  consideration  for  his 
family  —  is  so  common  in  tropical  seaports  that 
I  do  not  hope  in  this  epitome  to  offer  anything 
novel.  The  Lieutenant  was  a  typical  Jack-ashore. 
He  had  twice  the  mail  that  came  to  the  rest  of  us, 
and  he  read  his  love-letters  to  the  mess  with  a 
gusto.  He  boasted  fresh  victims  in  every  port, 
and  gloried  in  his  lack  of  principle.  It  did  not 
surprise  me  at  all  that  the  Lieutenant  had  shaken 
his  mother.  In  fact,  under  the  circumstances,  I 
think  his  mother  would  have  been  justified  in 
shaking  him,  if  she  could  have  got  her  hands  on 


294  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

him.  In  the  love-light  of  the  Commodore's  La- 
nai,  life  was  very  precious  to  this  particular  Jack- 
ashore.  To  him  a  Lanai  was  a  city  of  refuge, 
provided  by  an  all-wise  Commodore  for  those  fas- 
cinating lieutenants  who  were  pursued  by  the  chief 
women  of  the  tribe  ;  yet  he  loved  to  loiter  without 
the  walls,  during  the  off-hours  from  cribbage.  No 
man  so  relished  the  lomi-lomi  ;  no  man,  except  the 
native-born,  so  clamored  for  the  hula-hula  ;  and  no 
man,  not  even  the  least  of  these,  forgot  himself  to 
the  same  alarming  extent  whenever  there  was  the 
slightest  provocation. 

Of  course,  he  met  a  chiefess  and  surrendered  ; 
of  course,  he  meant  in  time  to  crush  the  heart 
that  pulsated  with  the  blood-royal.  He  simpered 
and  tried  to  turn  semi-savage,  and  was  simply  ri- 
diculous. He  made  silly  speeches  in  the  worst 
possible  Hawaiian,  and  afforded  unlimited  amuse- 
ment to  the  women,  who  are  wiser  in  their  dark 
skins  than  the  children  of  light.  He  tried  to  eat 
poij  and  ruined  his  linen.  He  suffered  himself  to 
be  wreathed  and  garlanded,  until  he  was  the  pic- 
ture of  a  sacrificial  calf.  He  gave  gifts,  and  bab- 
bled in  his  sleep.  But  in  the  hour  when  his 
triumph  seemed  inevitable  he  was  beautifully 
snubbed  by  his  supposed  victim.  The  syrens  of 
Scylla  are  a  match  for  any  mariner  who  sails  with 
un wadded  ears.'  The  Lieutenant  cannot  hope  to 
hear  the  last  of  that  adventure,  though  the  sub- 
ject is  never  broached  by  himself. 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LANAI.  295 

If  we  had  dwelt  a  thousand  years  with  the  Com- 
modore, and  sipped  the  elixir  of  life  from  the  gourd 
that  hung  by  the  door  of  the  wine-closet,  I  suppose 
we  should  have  had  the  same  daily  and  nightly 
experiences  to  go  through  with,  barring  a  slight 
variation  in  the  little  matter  of  moonshine.  But 
there  were  orders  superior  to  the  Commodore's, 
since  he  was  off  active  duty,  and  these  orders  de- 
manded our  reappearance  on  shipboard  at  an  early 
hour  of  the  day  following.  There  was  a  farewell 
round  of  everything  that  had  been  introduced 
daring  oar  brief  stay  at  Wai-ki-ki,  —  dances,  songs, 
sea-baths,  and  flirtations.  The  moon  rose  later, 
and  'was  but  a  shadow  of  her  former  self;  but  the 
stars  burned  brightly,  and  we  could  still  trace  the 
noiseless  flight  of  the  solitary  sail  that  passed  like 
a  spirit  over  the  dusky  sea. 

I  know  that  in  after  years,  whenever  I  come 
within  sound  of  surf  under  the  prickly  sunshine, 
my  fancy  will  conjure  up  a  picture  of  that  grass 
cottage  on  the  slope  of  a  dazzling  beach,  and  the 
portly  form  of  the  old  Commodore  stowed  snugly 
in  the  spacious  hollow  of  a  bamboo  settee,  drawn 
up  on  the  stocks,  as  it  were,  for  repairs,  with  a 
bandanna  spread  over  his  face  and  a  dark-eyed 
crouching  figure  beside  him,  fighting  mosquitoes 
with  a  tuft  of  parrot-feathers.  No  wonder  that 
a  body-guard  of  some  kind  was  necessary,  for  I 
believe  that  the  old  Commodore's  veins  ran  noth- 
ing but  wine,  and  mosquitoes  are  good  tasters. 


296  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

The  picture  would  not  be  complete  without  the 
attendant  houris,  and  with  their  image  comes  an 
echo  of  barbarous  chants  and  the  monotonous 
thump  of  the  tom-tom  ;  of  swaying  figures ;  of 
supple  wrists  ;  of  slender,  lascivious  hands  tossed 
skilfully  in  the  air,  seeking  to  interpret  their 
pantomimic  dances,  and  doing  it  with  remarka- 
ble freedom  and  grace.  I  shall  hear  that  one 
song,  like  an  echo  eternally  repeated,  —  the  song 
that  was  sung  by  all  the  lips  that  had  skill  to 
sing,  in  every  valley  under  the  Hawaiian  sun.  I 
remember  it  as  a  refrain  that  was  first  raised  in 
Honolulu,  but  for  the  copyright  of  which  the  re- 
spective residents  of  Hawaii  and  Nihau  would 
willingly  lay  down  their  lives  with  the  last  words 
of  the  song  rattling  in  their  throats. 

"  Poli-anu"  or  "  Cool-bosom,"  is  a  fair  specimen 
of  the  ballad  literature  of  Hawaii,  and  the  follow- 
ing free  translation  will  perhaps  give  a  suggestion 
of  the  theme.  "  Poli-anu"  is  sung  by  the  old 
and  decrepid,  the  lame,  the  halt,  and  the  blind, 
as  well  as  by  the  merest  children.  I  have  heard 
it  carolled  by  a  solitary  boy  tending  goats  upon 
the  breezy  heights  of  Kaupo.  I  have  listened  to 
it  in  the  market-place,  where  a  chorus  of  a  dozen 
voices  held  the  customer  entranced.  In  the  high 
winds  of  the  middle  channel  the  song  is  raised, 
as  the  schooner  lays  over  at  a  perilous  angle,  and 
ships  water  enough  to  dampen  the  ardor  of  most 
singers.  It  is  sung  in  the  church-porch,  by  the 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A   LAN  AT.  297 

brackish  well  in  the  desert,  under  the  moonlit 
palms,  and  everywhere  else.  It  cheers  the  mid- 
night vigil  of  the  prisoner,  and  makes  glad  the 
heart  of  the  sorrowful.  It  is  altogether  useful  as 
well  as  ornamental,  and  the  Hawaiian  who  does 
not  number  among  his  accomplishments  the  abil- 
ity to  sing  "  Poli-anu  "  tolerably  well,  is  unworthy 
of  the  name. 

POLT-ANU. 

Bosom,  here  is  love  for  you, 

0  bosom  cool  as  night ! 

How  you  refresh  me  as  with  dew,  — 
Your  coolness  gives  delight. 

Rain  is  cold  upon  the  hill, 

And  water  in  the  pool, 
Yet  all  my  frame  is  colder  still 

For  you,  0  bosom  cool. 

Face  to  face  beneath  a  bough 

1  may  not  you  embrace, 

But  feel  a  spell  on  breast  and  brow 
While  sitting  face  to  face. 

Thoughts  in  absence  send  a  thrill 

Like  touch  of  sweeter  air: 
I  sought  you,  and  I  seek  you  still, 

0  bosom  cool  and  fair ! 

That  is  all  of  it ;  but  your  Hawaiian  turns  back 
and  begins  over  again,  until  he  has  enough. 

I  suppose  it  is  no  breach  of  confidence  on  my 

part  to  state  that  the  gorgeous  old  Commodore  is 

dead.     There  was  nothing  in  his  Lanai  life  to  die 

of,  except  an  accident,  and  in  course  of  time  he 

13* 


298  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

met  with  one.  I  forget  the  nature  of  it,  but  it 
finished  him.  There  was  wailing  for  three  mortal 
days  in  the  solemn  shadow  of  the  Lanai ;  and 
then  one  of  the  large,  motherly-looking  creatures, 
with  numberless  gauzy  folds  in  a  dress  that  fell 
straight  from  her  broad  shoulders,  moved  in. 
After  three  days  of  feasting,  all  vestiges  of  the 
Commodore's  atmosphere  had  disappeared  from 
the  premises.  I  fancy  she  always  felt  at  home 
there,  although  she  was  never  known  to  open  her 
lips  in  the  presence  of  the  Commodore's  guests. 
Life  was  a  little  more  intense  after  that.  The 
snaky  steward  disappeared,  without  any  sort  of 
warning.  I  have  always  believed  that  he  crawled 
under  some  rock,  and  laid  himself  away  in  a  coil ; 
that  he  will  sleep  for  a  century  or  so,  then  come 
out  in  his  real  character,  and  astonish  the  inhab- 
itants with  his  length  and  his  slimness. 

Lieutenant  Blank  survives,  and  sails  the  stormy 
seas  on  a  moderate  salary,  the  major  portion  of 
which  he  turns  into  naval  buttons.  I  hear  from 
him  once  in  a  dog's  age.  He  is  first  at  Callao, 
with  a  daily  jaunt  into  Lima ;  then  at  one  of  the 
South  Sea  paradises ;  next  at  Australia,  or  in  the 
China  Sea ;  and  in  the  future  —  heaven  knows 
where  !  He  vibrates  between  the  two  hemi- 
spheres, working  out  his  time,  and  believing  him- 
self supremely  happy.  I  doubt  not  that  he  is 
happy,  being  about  as  selfish  as  men  are  made. 

As  for  myself,  I  am  a  landsman.     After  all  that 


LOVE-LIFE  IN  A  LANAI.  299 

is  said,  the  sea  is  rather  a  bore,  you  know  ;  but 
I  do  not  forget  the  dreamy  days  of  calm  in  the 
flowering  equatorial  waters,  nor  the  troubled  days 
of  storm.  There  are  a  thousand-and-one  trifling 
events  in  the  fragmentary  experiences  of  the  sea- 
farer that  are  of  more  importance  than  this  stray 
leaf,  but  perhaps  none  that  will  serve  my  purpose 
better.  For  this  yarn  is  as  fine-drawn  as  the  epi- 
sodes in  an  out-of-the-way  port,  —  with  nothing 
but  tho  faint  odor  of  its  fruits  a  little  overripe, 
of  its  flowers  a  little  overblown,  and  a  general 
sense  of  uncomfortable  warmth,  to  give  it  individ- 
uality. I  have  found  these  experiences  excellent 
memories ;  for  though  the  dull  "  waits  "  between 
the  acts  and  the  sluggishness  of  the  action  at 
best  are  a  little  dreary  at  times,  they  are  forgot- 
ten, together  with  most  disagreeable  matter.  I  '11 
warrant  you,  Lieutenant  Blank,  strutting  his  little 
hour  between-decks,  or  in  the  fleeting  moments  of 
tha  delectable  "  dog-watch,"  muses  upon  the  past. 
When  he  has  aroused  the  fever  in  his  blood,  and 
can  no  longer  hold  his  tongue,  he  heaves  an  omin- 
ous sigh,  knits  his  brows,  and,  in  a  voice  that  quiv- 
ers with  unaffected  emotion,  he  whispers  to  the 
marines  the  beguiling  romance  of  his  Love-life  in 
a  Lanai. 


IN  A  TRANSPORT. 


LITTLE  French  aspirant  de  marine, 
with  an  incipient  mustache,  said  to  me, 
confidentially,  "  Where  you  see  the 
French  flag  you  see  France  ! "  We  were  pacing  to 
and  fro  on  the  deck  of  a  transport  that  swung  at 
anchor  off  San  Francisco,  and,  as  I  looked  shore- 
ward for  almost  the  last  time, —  we  were  to  sail  at 
daybreak  for  a  southern  cruise —  I  hugged  my 
Ollendorf  in  despair,  as  I  dreamed  of  "  French  in 
six  easy  lessons,"  without  a  master,  or  a  tolera- 
ble accent,  or  anything,  save  a  suggestion  of  Ba- 
bel and  a  confusion  of  tongues  at  sea. 

Thanaron,  the  aspirant  in  question,  embraced 
me  when  I  boarded  the  transport  with  my  bag- 
gage, treated  me  like  a  long-lost  brother  all  that 
afternoon,  and  again  embraced  me  when  I  went 
ashore  toward  evening  to  take  leave  of  my  house- 
hold. There  was  something  so  impulsive  and 
boyish  in  his  manner  that  I  immediately  returned 
his  salute,  and  with  considerable  fervor,  feeling 
that  kind  Heaven  had  thrown  me  into  the  arms  of 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  301 

the  exceptional  foreigner  who  would,  to  a  certain 
extent,  console  me  for  the  loss  of  my  whole  family. 
The  mystery  that  hangs  over  the  departure  of 
any  craft  that  goes  by  wind  is  calculated  to  appall 
the  landsman;  and  when  the  date  of  sailing  is 
fixed  the  best  thing  he  can  do  is  to  go  aboard  in 
season  and  compose  his  soul  in  peace.  To  be 
sure,  he  may  swing  at  anchor  for  a  day  or  two,  in 
full  sight  of  the  domestic  circle  that  he  has  shat- 
tered, but  he  is  spared  the  repetition  of  those 
last  agonies,  and  cuts  short  the  unravelling  hours 
just  prior  to  a  separation,  which  are  probably  the 
most  unsatisfactory  in  life. 

Under  cover  of  darkness  a  fellow  can  do  almost 
anything,  and  I  concluded  to  go  on  board.  There 
was  a  late  dinner  and  a  parting  toast  at  home, 
and  those  ominous  silences  in  the  midst  of  a  con- 
versation that  was  as  spasmodic  and  disconnected 
and  unnatural  as  possible.  There  was  something 
on  our  minds,  and  we  relapsed  in  turn  and  forgot 
ourselves  in  the  fathomless  abysses  of  speculation. 
Some  one  saw  me  off  that  night,  —  some  one  who 
will  never  again  follow  me  to  the  sea,  and  welcome 
me  on  my  return  to  earth  after  my  wandering. 
We  sauntered  down  the  dark  streets  along  the 
city  front,  and  tried  to  disguise  our  motives,  but 
it  was  hard  work.  Presently  we  heard  the  slow 
swing  of  the  tide  under  us,  and  the  musty  odor 
of  the  docks  regaled  us ;  one  or  two  shadows 
seemed  to  be  groping  about  in  the  neighborhood, 


302  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

making  more  noise  than  a  shadow  has  any  right 
to  make. 

Then  came  the  myriad-masted  shipping,  the 
twinkling  lights  in  the  harbor,  and  a  sense  of 
ceaseless  motion  in  waters  that  never  can  be  still. 
We  did  not  tarry  there  long.  The  boat  was 
bumping  her  bow  against  a  pair  of  slippery  stairs 
that  led  down  to  the  water,  and  I  entered  the  tot- 
tering thing  that  half  sank  under  me,  dropped  into 
my  seat  in  the  stern,  and  tried  to  call  out  some- 
thing or  other  as  we  shot  away  from  the  place, 
with  a  cloud  over  my  eyes  that  was  darker  than 
night  itself,  and  a  cloud  over  my  heart  that  was  as 
heavy  as  lead.  After  that  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  climb  up  one  watery  swell  and  slide  down 
on  the  other  side  of  it,  to  count  the  shadow-ships 
that  shaped  themselves  out  of  chaos  as  we  drew 
near  them,  and  dissolved  again  when  we  had 
passed  ;  while  the  oars  seemed  to  grunt  in  the 
row-locks,  and  the  two  jolly  tars  in  uniform  — 
they  might  have  been  mutes,  for  all  I  know  — 
swung  to  and  fro,  to  and  fro,  dragging  me  over 
the  water  to  my  "  ocean  bride," — I  think  that 
is  what  they  call  a  ship,  when  the  mood  is  on 
them  ! 

She  did  look  pretty  as  we  swam  up  under  her. 
She  looked  like  a  great  silhouette  against  the  steel- 
gray  sky;  but  within  was  the  sound  of  revelry, 
and  I  hastened  on  board  to  find  our  little  cabin 
blue  with  smoke,  which,  however,  was  scarcely 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  303 

dense  enough  to  muffle  the  martial  strains  of  the 
Marseillaise,  as  shouted  by  the  whole  mess. 

Thanaron  —  my  Thanaron  —  was  in  the  centre 
of  the  table,  with  his  curly  head  out  of  the  tran- 
som, —  not  that  he  was  by  any  means  a  giant,  but 
we  were  all  a  little  cramped  between-decks,  —  and 
h3  was  leading  the  chorus  with  a  sabre  in  one 
hand  and  the  head  of  the  Doctor  in  the  other. 
Without  the  support  of  the  faculty,  he  would 
probably  not  have  ended  his  song  of  triumph  as 
successfully  as  he  ultimately  did,  when  Nature 
herself  had  fainted  from  exhaustion.  It  was  the 
last  night  in  port,  a  few  friends  from  shore  had 
come  to  dine,  and  black  coffee  and  cognac  at  a 
late  hour  had  finished  the  business. 

If  there  is  one  thing  in  this  world  that  aston- 
ishes me  more  than  another,  it  is  the  rapidity  with 
which  some  people  talk  in  French.  Thanaron's 
French,  when  he  once  got  started,  sounded  to  me 
like  the  well-executed  trill  of  a  prima-donna,  and 
quite  as  intelligible.  The  joke  of  it  was,  that 
Frenchmen  seemed  to  find  no  difficulty  in  under- 
standing him  at  his  highest  speed.  On  the  whole, 
perhaps,  this  fact  astonishes  me  more  than  the 
other. 

Dinner  was  as  far  over  as  it  could  get  without 
beginning  again  and  calling  itself  breakfast ;  so 
the  party  broke  up  in  a  whirlwind  of  patriotic 
songs,  and,  one  by  one,  we  dropped  our  guests 
over  the  side  of  the  vessel  until  there  was  none 


304  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

left,  and  then  we  waved  them  a  thousand  adieus, 
and  kept  up  the  last  words  as  long  as  we  could 
catch  the  faintest  syllable  of  a  reply.  There  were 
streaks  of  dull  red  in  the  east  by  this  time,  and 
the  outlines  of  the  city  were  again  becoming  visi- 
ble. This  I  dreaded  a  little  ;  and,  when  our  boat 
had  returned  and  everything  was  put  in  ship- 
shape, I  deliberately  dropped  a  tear  in  the  pres- 
ence of  my  messmates,  who  were  overcome  with 
emotion  at  the  spectacle;  and,  having  all  em- 
braced, we  went  below,  where  I  threw  myself, 
with  some  caution,  into  my  hammock,  and  slept 
until  broad  daylight. 

I  did  not  venture  on  deck  again  until  after  our 
first  breakfast, —  an  informal  one,  that  set  uneasily 
on  the  table,  and  seemed  inclined  to  make  its  es- 
cape from  one  side  or  the  other.  Of  course,  we 
were  well  under  way  by  this  time.  I  was  assured 
of  the  fact  by  the  reckless  rolling  of  the  vessel 
and  the  strange  and  unfamiliar  feeling  in  my 
stomach,  as  though  it  were  some  other  fellow's 
stomach,  and  not  my  own.  My  legs  were  a  trifle 
uncertain  ;  my  head  was  queer.  Everybody  was 
rushing  everywhere  and  doing  things  that  had  to 
be  undone  or  done  over  again  in  the  course  of  the 
next  ten  minutes.  I  concluded  to  pace  the  deck, 
which  is  probably  the  correct  thing  for  a  man  to 
do  when  he  goes  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  and  does 
business  —  you  could  hardly  call  it  pleasure  —  on 
great  waters. 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  305 

I  went  up  the  steep  companion-way,  and  found 
a  deck-load  of  ropes,  and  the  entire  crew  —  dressed 
in  blue  flannel,  with  broad  collars  — •  skipping 
about  in  the  most  fantastic  manner.  It  was  like  a 
ballet  scene  in  L'Africaine,  and  highly  diverting 
—  for  a  few  minutes  !  From  my  stronghold  on 
the  top  stair  of  the  companion-way,  I  cast  my  eye 
shoreward.  The  long  coast  ran  down  the  horizon 
under  a  broadside  of  breakers  that  threatened  to 
ingulf  the  continent ;  the  air  was  gray  with  scat- 
tering mist ;  the  sea  was  much  disturbed,  and  of 
that  ugly,  yellowish  -  green  tint  that  signifies 
soundings.  Overhead,  a  few  sea-birds  whirled  in 
disorder,  shrieking  as  though  their  hearts  would 
break.  It  looked  ominous,  yet  I  felt  it  my  duty, 
as  an  American  under  the  shadow  of  the  tricolor, 
to  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip,  —  and  I  flatter  myself 
that  I  did  so.  Figuratively  speaking,  I  balanced 
myself  in  the  mouth  of  the  companion-way,  with  a 
bottle  of  claret  in  one  pocket  and  a  French  roll  in 
the  other,  while  I  brushed  the  fog  from  my  eyes 
with  the  sleeve  of  my  monkey-jacket,  and  exclaimed 
with  the  bard,  "  My  native  land,  good  night." 

It  was  morning  at  the  time,  but  I  did  not  seem 
to  care  much.  In  fact,  time  is  not  of  the  slight- 
est consequence  on  shipboard.  So  I  withdrew  to 
my  hammock,  and  having  climbed  into  it  in  safety 
ended  the  day  after  a  miserable  fashion  that  I 
have  deplored  a  thousand  times  since,  during  the 
prouder  moments  of  my  life. 


306  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

A  week  passed  by  —  I  suppose  it  was  a  week, 
for  I  could  reckon  only  seven  days,  and  seven 
nights  of  about  twice  the  length  of  the  days  — 
during  that  interval ;  yet  I  should,  in  the  inno- 
cence of  my  heart,  have  called  it  a  month,  without 
a  moment's  hesitation.  We  arose  late  in  the 
morning,  —  those  of  us  who  had  a  watch  below ; 
ate  a  delightfully  long  and  narrow  breakfast,  con- 
sisting of  an  interminable  procession  of  dishes  in 
single  file ;  paced  the  deck  and  canvassed  the 
weather ;  went  below  to  read,  but  talked  instead  ; 
dined  as  we  had  breakfasted,  only  in  a  far  more 
elaborate  and  protracted  manner,  while  a  gentle 
undercurrent  of  side-dishes  lent  interest  to  the 
occasion.  There  was  a  perpetual  stream  of  con- 
versation playing  over  the  table,  from  the  moment 
that  heralded  the  soup  until  the  last  drop  of 
black  coffee  was  sopped  up  with  a  bit  of  dry 
bread.  By  the  time  we  had  come  to  cheese,  every- 
body felt  called  upon  to  say  his  say,  in  the  face  of 
everybody  else.  I  alone  kept  my  place,  and  held 
it  because  the  heaviest  English  I  knew  fell  feebly 
to  the  floor  before  the  thunders  of  those  five 
prime  Frenchmen,  who  were  flushed  with  enthusi- 
asm and  good  wine.  I  dreamed  of  home  over  my 
cigarette,  and  tried  to  look  as  though  I  wrere  still 
interested  in  life,  when,  Heaven  knows,  my  face 
was  more  like  a  half-obliterated  cameo  of  despair 
than  anything  human.  Thanaron,  my  foreign  af- 
finity, now  and  then  threw  me  a  semi-English  nut 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  307 

to  crack,  but  by  the  time  I  had  recovered  myself, 
—  it  is  rather  embarrassing  to  be  assaulted  even 
in  the  most  friendly  manner  with  a  batch  of 
broken  English,  —  by  the  time  I  had  framed  an 
intelligible  response,  Thanaron  was  in  the  heat 
of  a  fresh  argument,  and  keeping  up  a  running 
fire  of  small  shot  that  nearly  floored  the  mess. 

But  there  is  an  end  even  to  a  French  dinner,  and 
we  ultimately  adjourned  to  the  deck,  where,  about 
sunset,  everybody  took  his  station  while  the  Ange- 
lus  was  said.  Then  twilight,  with  a  subdued  kind 
of  skylarking  in  the  forecastle,  and  genteel  merri- 
ment amidships,  while  Monsieur  le  Capitaine  paced 
the  high  quarter-deck  with  the  shadow  of  a  smile 
crouching  between  the  fierce  jungles  of  his  in- 
tensely black  side-whiskers.  Ah,  sir,  it  was  some- 
thing to  be  at  sea  in  a  French  transport  with  the 
tricolor  flaunting  at  the  peak ;  to  have  four  guns 
with  their  mouths  gagged,  and  oilcloth  capes  lashed 
snugly  over  them;  to  see  everybody  in  uniform, 
each  having  the  profoundest  respect  for  those 
who  ranked  a  notch  above  him,  and  having,  also, 
an  ill-disguised  contempt  for  the  unlucky  fellow 
beneath  '  him !  This  spirit  was  observable  from 
one  end  of  the  ship  to  the  other,  and,  sirs,  we  had 
a  little  world  of  our  own  revolving  on  a  wabbling 
axis  between  the  stanch  ribs  of  the  old  transport 
Chevert. 

We  were  bound  for  Tahiti,  God  willing  and  the 
winds  favorable ;  and  the  common  hope  of  ulti- 


308  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

matelj  finding  port  in  that  paradise  is  all  that 
held  us  together  through  thick  and  thin.  We 
might  wrangle  at  dinner,  and  come  to  breakfast 
next  morning  with  bitterness  in  our  hearts;  we 
might  sink  into  the  bottomless  pit  of  despond ;  we 
might  revile  Monsieur  le  Captiaine  and  Monsieur 
le  Cuisinier,  including  in  our  anathemas  the  ele- 
ments and  some  other  things ;  they  (the  French- 
men) might  laugh  to  scorn  the  great  American 
people,  —  and  they  did  it,  two  or  three  times  — 
and  I,  in  my  turn,  might  feel  a  secret  contempt 
for  Paris,  without  having  the  power  to  express  the 
same  in  tolerable  French,  so  I  felt  it  and  held  my 
tongue.  Even  Thanaron  gave  me  a  French  shrug 
now  and  then  that  sent  the  cold  shivers  through 
me  ;  but  there  was  sure  to  come  a  sunset  like  a  sea 
of  fire,  at  which  golden  hour  we  were  marshalled 
amidships,  and  stood  with  uncovered  heads  and  the 
soft  light  playing  over  us,  while  the  littlest  French 
boy  in  the  crew  said  the  evening  prayer  with  ex- 
ceeding sweetness, — being  the  youngest,  he  was 
the  most  worthy  of  saying  it,  —  and  then  we  all 
crossed  ourselves,  and  our  hearts  melted  within  us. 
There  .was  something  in  the  delicious  atmo- 
sphere, growing  warmer  every  day,  and  something 
in  the  delicious  sea,  that  was  beginning  to  rock 
her  floating  gardens  of  blooming  weed  under  our 
bows,  and  something  in  the  aspect  of  Monsieur  le 
Capitaine,  with  his  cap  off  and  a  shadow  of  prayer 
softening  his  hard,  proud  face,  that  unmanned  us; 


IN  A   TRANSPORT.  309 

so  we  rushed  to  our  own  little  cabin  and  hugged 
one  another,  lest  we  should  forget  how  when  we 
were  restored  to  our  sisters  and  our  sweethearts, 
and  everything  was  forgiven  and  forgotten  in  one 
intense  moment  of  French  remorse. 

Who  took  me  in  his  arms  and  carried  me  the 
length  of  the  cabin  in  three  paces,  at  the  immi- 
nent peril  of  my  life  ?  Thanaron  !  Who  admired 
Thanaron's  gush  of  nature,  and  nearly  squeezed  the 
life  out  of  him  in  the  vain  hope  of  making  their 
joy  known  to  him  ?  Everybody  else  in  the  mess  ! 
Who  looked  on  in  bewilderment,  and  was  half  glad 
and  half  sorry,  though  more  glad  than  sorry  by 
half,  and  wondered  all  the  while  what  was  coming 
next  ?  Bless  you,  it  was  I !  And  we  kept  doing 
that  sort  of  thing  until  I  got  very  used  to  it,  and 
by  the  time  we  sighted  the  green  summits  of 
Tahiti,  my  range  of  experience  was  so  great  that 
nothing  could  touch  me  further.  It  may  be  that 
we  were  not  governed  by  the  laws  of  ordinary  sea- 
farers. The  Chevert  was  shaped  a  little  like  a 
bath-tub,  with  a  bow  like  a  duck's  breast,  and  a 
high,  old-fashioned  quarter-deck,  resembling  a 
Chinese  junk  with  a  reef  in  her  stern.  Forty  bold 
sailor-boys,  who  looked  as  though  they  had  been 
built  on  precisely  the  same  model  and  dealt  out  to 
the  government  by  the  dozen,  managed  to  keep 
the  decks  very  clean  and  tidy,  and  the  brass-work 
in  a  state  of  dazzling  brightness.  The  ship  was 
wonderfully  well  ordered.  I  could  tell  you  by  the 


310  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

sounds  on  deck,  while  I  swung  in  the  comfortable 
seclusion  of  my  hammock,  just  the  hour  of  the 
day  or  night,  but  that  was  after  I  had  once  learned 
the  order  of  events.  There  was  the  Sunday  morn- 
ing inspection,  the  Wednesday  sham  naval  battle, 
the  prayers  night  and  morning,  and  the  order  to 
shorten  sail  each  evening.  Between  times  the 
decks  were  scrubbed  and  the  whole  ship  renovated ; 
sometimes  the  rigging  was  darkened  with  drying 
clothes,  and  sometimes  we  felt  like  ancient  mari- 
ners, the  sea  was  so  oily  and  the  air  so  hot  and 
still.  There  was  nothing  stirring  save  the  sea- 
birds,  who  paddled  about  like  tame  ducks,  and  the 
faint,  thin  thread  of  smoke  that  ascended  noise- 
lessly from  the  dainty  rolls  of  tobacco  in  the  fingers 
of  the  entire  ship's  crew.  In  fact,  when  we  moved 
at  all  in  these  calm  waters,  we  seemed  to  be  pro- 
pelled by  forty-cigarette  power,  for  there  was  not 
a  breath  of  air  stirring. 

It  was  at  such  times  that  we  fought  our  blood- 
less battles.  The  hours  were  ominous  ;  breakfast 
did  not  seem  half  a  breakfast,  because  we  hurried 
through  it  with  the  dreadful  knowledge  that  a 
conflict  was  pending,  and  possibly  —  though  not 
probably  —  we  might  never  gather  at  that  board 
again,  for  a  naval  engagement  is  something  terrible, 
and  life  is  uncertain  in  the  fairest  weather.  Break- 
fast is  scarcely  over  when  the  alarm  is  given,  and 
with  the  utmost  speed  every  Frenchman  flies  to 
his  post.  Already  the  horizon  is  darkened  with 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  311 

the  Prussian  navy,  yet  our  confidence  in  the  stanch 
old  C/ievert,  in  each  particular  soul  on  board,  and 
in  our  undaunted  leader,  — •  Monsieur  le  Capitaine, 
who  is  even  now  scouring  the  sea  with  an  enor- 
mous marine  glass  that  of  itself  is  enough  to  strike 
terror  to  the  Prussian  heart,  —  our  implicit  confi- 
dence in  ourselves  is  such  that  we  smilingly  await 
the  approach  of  the  doomed  fleet.  At  last  they  come 
within  range  of  our  guns,  and  the  conflict  begins. 
I  am  unfortunately  compelled  to  stay  beneath  the 
hatches.  A  sham  battle  is  no  sight  for  an  inex- 
perienced landsman  to  witness,  and,  moreover,  I 
would  doubtless  get  in  the  way  of  the  frantic  crew, 
who  seem  resolved  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  French 
blood  in  behalf  of  la  belle  France. 

Marine  engagements  are,  as  a  general  thing,  a 
great  bore.  The  noise  is  something  terrific ;  ammu- 
nition is  continually  passed  up  through  the  transom 
over  our  dinner-table,  and  a  thousand  feet  are 
rushing  over  the  deck  with  a  noise  as  of  theatrical 
thunder.  The  engagement  lasts  for  an  hour  or 
two.  Once  or  twice  we  are  enveloped  in  sheets  of 
flame.  We  are  speedily  deluged  with  water,  and 
the  conflict  is  renewed  with  the  greatest  enthusi- 
asm. Again,  and  again,  and  again,  we  pour  a 
broadside  into  the  enemy's  fleet,  and  always  with 
terrific  effect.  We  invariably  do  ourselves  the 
greatest  credit,  for,  by  the  time  our  supplies  are  about 
exhausted,  not  a  vestige  of  the  once  glorious  navy 
of  Prussia  remains  to  tell  the  tale.  The  sea  is,  of 


312  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

course,  blood-stained  for  miles  around.  The  few 
persistent  Prussians  who  attempt  to  board  us  are 
speedily  despatched,  and  allowed  to  drop  back  into 
the  remorseless  waves.  A  shout  of  triumph  rings 
up  from  our  triumphant  crew,  and  the  play  is 
over. 

Once  more  the  hatches  are  removed ;  once  more 
I  breathe  the  sweet  air  of  heaven,  for  not  a  grain 
of  powder  has  been  burned  through  all  this  fear- 
ful conflict ;  once  more  my  messmates  rush  into 
our  little  cabin  and  regale  themselves  with  copious 
draughts  of  absinthe,  and  I  am  pressed  to  the 
proud  bosom  of  Thanaron,  who  is  restored  to  me 
without  a  scar  to  disfigure  his  handsome  little 
body.  I  grew  used  to  these  weekly  wars,  and  be- 
fore we  came  in  sight  of  our  green  haven,  there 
was  not  a  Prussian  left  in  the  Pacific.  It  is  im- 
possible that  any  nation,  though  they  be  schooled 
to  hardships,  could  hope  to  survive  such  a  succes- 
sion of  disastrous  conflicts.  On  the  whole,  I  like 
sham  battles ;  they  are  deuced  exciting,  and  they 
don't  hurt. 

How  different,  how  very  different  those  sleepy 
days  when  we  were  drifting  on  toward  the  Mar- 
quesas Islands !  The  silvery  phaetons  darted 
overhead  like  day-stars  shooting  from  their  spheres. 
The  sea-weed  grew  denser,  and  a  thousand  float- 
ing things, —  broken  branches  with  a  few  small 
leaves  attached,  the  husk  of  a  cocoa-nut,  or  straws 
such  as  any  dove  from  any  ark  would  be  glad  to 


7Ar  A    TRANSPORT.  313 

seize  upon, —  these  gave  us  ample  food  for  specu- 
lation. "  Piloted  by  the  slow,  unwilling  winds," 
we  came  close  to  the  star-lit  Nouka  Hiva,  and 
shortened  sail  right  under  its  fragrant  shadow.  It 
was  a  glorious  night.  There  was  the  subtile  odor 
of  earth  in  the  warm,  faint  air,  and  before  us  that 
impenetrable  shadow  that  we  knew  to  be  an  island, 
yet  whose  outlines  were  traceable  only  by  the  ob- 
literated stars. 

At  sunrise  we  were  on  deck,  and,  looking  west- 
ward, saw  the  mists  melt  away  like  a  veil  swept 
from  before  the  face  of  a  dusky  Venus  just  rising 
from  the  waves.  The  island  seemed  to  give  out  a 
kind  of  magnetic  heat  that  made  our  blood  tingle. 
We  gravitated  toward  it  with  an  almost  irresisti- 
ble impulse.  Something  had  to  be  done  before  we 
yielded  to  the  fascinations  of  this  savage  enchant- 
ress. Our  course  lay  to  the  windward  of  the 
southeastern  point  of  the  land ;  but,  finding  that 
we  could  not  weather  it,  we  went  off  before  the 
light  wind  and  drifted  down  the  northern  coast, 
swinging  an  hour  or  more  under  the  lee  of  some 
parched  rocks,  eying  the '"  Needles,"  —  the  slen- 
der and  symmetrical  peaks,  so  called, —  and  then 
we  managed  to  work  our  way  out  into  the  open 
sea  again,  and  were  saved. 

Valleys  lay  here  and  there,  running  back  from 
the  shore  with  green  and  inviting  vistas  ;  slim 
waterfalls  made  one  desperate  leap  from  the 
clouds  and  buried  themselves  in  the  forests  hun- 

14 


314  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

dreds  of  feet  below,  where  they  were  lost  forever. 
Rain-clouds  hung  over  the  mountains,  throwing 
deep  shadows  across  the  slopes  that  but  for  this 
relief  would  have  been  too  bright  for  the  senti- 
mental beauty  that  usually  identifies  a  tropical 
island. 

I  happened  to  know  something  about  the  place, 
and  marked  every  inch  of  the  scorching  soil  as  we 
floated  past  groves  of  rose-wood,  sandal-wood,  and 
a  hundred  sorts  of  new  and  strange  trees,  looking 
dark  and  velvety  in  the  distance  ;  past  strips  of 
beach  that  shone  like  brass,  while  beyond  them 
the  cocoa-palms  that  towered  above  the  low,  brown 
huts  of  the  natives  seemed  to  reel  and  nod  in  the 
intense  meridian  heat.  A  moist  cloud,  far  up  the 
mountain,  hung  above  a  serene  and  sacred  haunt, 
and  under  its  shelter  was  hidden  a  deep  valley, 
whose  secret  has  been  carried  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth ;  for  Herman  Melville  has  plucked  out  the 
heart  of  its  mystery,  and  beautiful  and  barbarous 
Typee  lies  naked  and  forsaken. 

I  was  rather  glad  we  could  not  get  any  nearer  to 
it,  for  fear  of  dispelling  the  ideal  that  has  so  long 
charmed  me.  Catching  the  wind  again,  late  in 
the  afternoon,  we  lost  the  last  outline  of  Nouka 
Hiva  in  the  soft  twilight,  and  said  our  prayers 
that  evening  as  much  at  sea  as  ever.  Back  we 
dropped  into  the  solemn  round  of  uneventful  days. 
Even  the  sham-battles  no  longer  thrilled  us.  In 
fact,  the  whole  affair  was  a  little  too  theatrical  to 


7^  A    TRANSPORT.  315 

bear  frequent  repetition.  There  was  but  one  of 
our  mess  who  could  muster  an  episode  whenever 
we  became  too  stagnant  for  our  health's  good,  and 
this  was  our  first  officer, —  a  tall,  slim  fellow,  with 
a  warlike  beard,  and  very  soft,  dark  eyes,  whose 
pupils  seemed  to  be  floating  aimlessly  about  under 
the  shelter  of  long  lashes.  His  face  was  in  a  per- 
petual dispute  with  itself,  and  I  never  knew  which 
was  the  right  or  the  wrong  side  of  him.  B — 
was  the  happy  possessor  of  a  tight  little  African, 
known  as  Nero,  although  I  always  looked  upon 
him  as  so  much  Jamaica  ginger.  Nero  was  as 
handsome  a  specimen  of  tangible  darkness  as  you 

will    sight    in   a   summer's   cruise.      B loved 

with  the  ardor  of  his  vacillating  eyes,  yet  governed 
with  the  rigor  of  his  beard.  Nero  was  consequent- 
ly prepared  for  any  change  in  the .  weather,  no 
matter  how  sudden  or  uncalled  for.  In  the  equa- 
torial seas,  while  we  sailed  to  the  measure  of  the 
Ancient  Mariner,  B —  -  summoned  Nero  to  the 
sacrifice,  and,  having  tortured  him  to  the  extent 
of  his  wits,  there  was  a  reconciliation  more  ludi- 
crous than  any  other  scene  in  the  farce.  It  was 

at  such  moments  that  B 's  eyes  literally  swam, 

when  even  his  beard  wilted,  while  he  told  of  the 
thousand  pathetic  eras  in  Nero's  life,  when  he 
might  have  had  his  liberty,  but  found  the  service 
of  his  master  more  beguiling ;  of  the  adventures 
by  flood  and  field,  where  B was  distinguish- 
ing himself,  yet  at  his  side,  through  thick  and 


316  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

thin,  struggled  the  faithful  Nero.  Thus  B — 
warmed  himself  at  the  fire  his  own  enthusiasm 
had  kindled  on  the  altar  of  self-love,  and  every 
moment  added  to  his  fervor,  it  was  the  yellow- 
fever,  and  the  cholera,  and  the  small-pox,  that 
were  powerless  to  separate  that  faithful  slave  from 
the  agonizing  bedside  of  his  master.  It  was  ship- 
wreck, and  famine,  and  the  smallest  visible  salary, 
that  seemed  only  to  s  engthen  the  ties  that 
bound  them  the  one  to  the  other.  Death  —  cruel 
death  —  alone  could  separate  them  ;  and  B — 
took  Nero  by  the  throat  and  kissed  him  passion- 
ately upon  his  sooty  cheek,  and  the  floating  eyes 
came  to  a  stand-sti]l  with  an  expression  of  virtuous 
defiance  that  was  calculated  to  put  all  convention- 
alities to  the  blush.  We  were  awed  by  the  mag- 
nanimity of  such  conduct,  until  we  got  thoroughly 
used  to  it,  and  then  we  were  simply  entertained. 
We  kept  looking  forward  to  the  conclusion  of  the 
scene,  which  usually  followed  in  the  course  of  half 

an   hour.       B having   fondled    Nero   to    his 

heart's  content,  and  Nero  having  become  some- 
what bored,  there  was  sure  to  arise  some  mild  dis- 
turbance, aggravated  by  both  parties,  and  B , 

believing  he  had  endured  as  much  as  any  French- 
man and  first  officer  is  expected  to  endure  without 
resentment,  suddenly  rises,  and,  seizing  Nero  by 
the  short,  wiry  moss  of  his  scalp,  kicks  him  delib- 
erately from  the  cabin,  and  returns  to  us  bursting 
with  indignation.  This  domestic  equinox  we  soon 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  317 

grew  fond  of,  and,  having  become  familiar  with  all 
its  signals  of  approach,  we  watched  with  agreea- 
ble interest  the  inevitable  climax.  It  was  well  for 
Nero  that  Nature  had  provided  against  any 
change  of  color  in  his  skin,  for  he  must  have  borne 
the  sensation  of  his  chastisement  for  some  hours, 
though  he  was  unable  to  give  visible  expression  of 
it.  By  and  by  came  B 's  own  private  birth- 
day. Nothing  had  been  said  of  it  at  table,  and, 
in  fact,  nothing  elsewhere,  that  I  remember ;  but 
Nero,  who  had  survived  several  of  those  anniver- 
saries, bore  it  in  mind,  and  our  dinner  was  some- 
thing gorgeous  —  to  look  at !  Unhappily,  certain 
necessary  ingredients  had  been  unavoidably  omit- 
ted in  the  concocting  of  the  dessert,  ornamental 
pastry  not  being  set  down  in  our  regular  bill  of 

fare ;  but  B ate  of  pies  that  were  built  of 

chips,  and  of  puddings  that  were  stuffed  with  saw- 
dust, until  I  feared  we  should  be  called  upon  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  first  officer  before  morning. 

Moreover,  B insisted  that  everything  was 

unsurpassed ;  and,  Heaven  be  thanked  !  I  believe 
the  pastry  could  easily  lay  claim  to  that  distinc- 
tion. At  any  rate,  never  before  or  since  have  I 
laid  teeth  to  such  a  Dead  Sea  dessert.  At  this 

point,  B naturally  called  Nero  to  him  and 

thanked  him,  with  moist  and  truthful  eyes,  and 
the  ingenuous  little  Jamaican  dropped  a  couple  of 
colorless  tears  that  would  easily  have  passed  for 
anybody's  anywhere.  For  this  mutual  exhibition 


318  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

of  sentiment  every  one  of  us  was  duly  grateful, 
and  we  never  afterward  scorned  B for  his  ec- 
centricities, since  we  knew  him  to  be  capable  of 
genuine  feeling.  Moreover,  he  nearly  died  of  his 
birthday  feast,  yet  did  not  once  complain  of  the 
unsuspecting  cause  of  all  his  woe,  who  was  at  his 
side  night  and  day,  anticipating  all  his  wishes, 
and  deploring  the  unaccountable  misfortunes  of 
his  master. 

So  the  winds  blew  us  into  the  warm  south  lati- 
tudes. I  was  getting  restless.  Perhaps  we  had 
talked  ourselves  out  of  legitimate  topics  of  conver- 
sation, and  were  forcing  the  social  element.  It 
was  tedious  beyond  expression,  passing  day  after 
day  within  sound  of  the  same  voices,  and  being 
utterly  unable  to  flee  into  never  so  small  a  soli- 
tude, for  there  was  not  an  inch  of  it  on  board. 
Swinging  at  night  in  my  hammock  between  decks, 
wakefully  dreaming  of  the  future  and  of  the  past, 
again  and  again  I  have  stolen  up  on  deck,  where 
the  watch  lay  in  the  moonlight,  droning  their  in- 
terminable yarns  and  smoking  their  perpetual  ciga- 
rettes, —  for  French  sailors  have  privileges,  and 
improve  them  with  considerable  grace. 

It  was  at  such  times  that  the  wind  sung  in  the 
rigging,  with  a  sound  as  of  a  thousand  swaying 
branches  full  of  quivering  leaves,  — just  as  the  soft 
gale  in  the  garden  groves  suggests  pleasant  nights 
at  sea,  the  vibration  of  the  taut  stays,  and  the 
rush  of  waters  along  the  smooth  sides  of  the  ves- 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  319 

sel.     A  ship's  rigging  is  a  kind  of  sea-harp,  played 
upon  by  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 

The  sails  were  half  in  moonlight  and  half  in 
shadow.  Every  object  was  well  defined,  and  on 
the  high  quarter-deck  paced  Thanaron,  his  boyish 
figure  looking  strangely  picturesque,  for  he  showed 
in  every  motion  how  deeply  he  felt  the  responsi- 
bility of  his  office.  There  was  usually  a  faint 
light  in  the  apartmsnts  of  Monsieur  le  Capitaine, 
and  I  thought  of  him  in  his  gold  lace  and  dignity, 
poring  over  a  French  novel,  or  cursing  the  light 
winds.  I  used  to  sit  upon  the  neck  of  a  gun,  — • 
one  of  our  four  dummies,  that  were  never  known 
to  speak  louder  than  a  whisper,  —  lay  my  head 
against  the  moist  bulwarks,  and  listen  to  the  half- 
savage  chants  of  the  Tahitian  sailors  who  helped 
to  swell  our  crew.  As  we  drew  down  toward  the 
enchanted  islands  they  seemed  fairly  bewitched, 
and  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  they 
could  keep  their  mouths  shut  until  evening,  when 
they  were  sure  to  begin  intoning  an  epic  that  usu- 
ally lasted  through  the  watch.  Sometimes  a  fish 
leaped  into  the  moonlight,  and  came  down  with  a 
splash ;  or  a  whale  heaved  a  great  sigh  close  to 
us,  and  as  I  looked  over  the  bulwarks,  I  would 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  old  fellow  just  going  down, 
like  a  submerged  island.  Occasionally  a  flying- 
fish  —  a  kind  of  tangible  moonbeam  —  fell  upon 
deck,  and  was  secured  by  "one  of  the  sailors ;  or  a 
bird,  sailing  about  with  an  eye  to  roosting  on  one 


320  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

of  our  yards,  gave  a  plaintive,  ominous  cry,  that 
was  echoed  in  falsetto  by  two  or  three  voices,  and 
rung  in  with  ths  Tahitian  cantata  of  island  de- 
lights. Even  this  sort  of  thing  lost  its  charm 
after  a  little.  Thanaron  could  not  speak  to  me, 
because  Thanaron  was  officer  of  the  deck  at  that 
moment,  and  Thanaron  himself  had  said  to  me, 
"  Order,  Monsieur,  order  is  the  first  law  of 
France  ! "  I  had  always  supposed  that  Heaven 
had  a  finger  in  the  making  of  that  law,  —  but  it  is 
all  the  same  to  a  Frenchman. 

Most  sea-days  have  a  tedious  family  resem- 
blance, their  chief  characteristic  being  the  almost 
total  absence  of  any  distinguishing  feature.  Fair 
weather  and  foul  ;  sunlight,  moonlight,  and  star- 
light ;  moments  of  confidence  ;  oaths  of  eternal 
fidelity  ;  plans  for  the  future  long  enough  to  crowd 
a  century  uncomfortably  ;  relapses,  rows,  recover- 
ies ;  then,  after  many  days,  the  water  subsided, 
and  we  saw  land  at  last. 

Land,  God  bless  it  !  Long,  low  coral  reefs, 
with  a  strip  of  garden  glorifying  them  ;  rocks  tow- 
ering out  of  the  sea,  palm-crowned,  foam-fringed  ; 
wreaths  of  verdure  cast  upon  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean,  forever  fragrant  in  their  imperishable 
beauty  ;  and,  beyond  and  above  them  all,  gor- 
geous and  glorious  Tahiti. 

On  the  morning  of  the  thirty-third  day  out, 
there  came  a  revelation  to  the  whole  ship's  com- 
pany. A  faint  blue  peak  was  seen  struggling  with 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  321 

the  billows ;  presently  it  seemed  to  get  the  better 
of  them,  growing  broader  and  taller,  but  taking 
hours  to  do  so.  The  wind  was  stiff,  and  the  sea 
covered  with  foam  ;  we  rolled  frightfully  all  day. 
Our  French  dinner  lost  its  identity.  Soup  was 
out  of  the  question  ;  we  had  hard  work  to  keep 
meat  and  vegetables  from  total  wreck,  while  we 
hung  on  to  the  legs  of  the  table  with  all  our 
strength.  How  the  old  CJievert  "  bucked,"  that 
day,  as  though  conscious  that  for  months  to  come 
she  would  swing  in  still  waters  by  the  edge  of 
green  pastures,  where  any  such  conduct  would  be 
highly  inappropriate. 

Every  hour  the  island  grew  more  and  more 
beautiful,  as  though  it  were  some  lovely  fruit  or 
flower,  swiftly  and  magically  coming  to  maturity. 
A  central  peak,  with  a  tiara  of  rocky  points, 
crowns  it  with  majesty,  and  a  neighboring  island 
of  great  beauty  seems  its  faithful  attendant.  I 
do  not  wonder  that  the  crew  of  the  Bounty  muti- 
nied when  they  were  ordered  to  make  sail  and 
turn  their  backs  on  Tahiti ;  nor  am  I  surprised 
that  they  put  the  captain  and  one  or  two  other 
objectionable  features  into  a  small  boat,  and  ad- 
vised them  to  continue  their  voyage  if  they  were 
anxious  to  do  so  :  but  as  for  them,  give  them  Ta- 
hiti, or  give  them  worse  than  death,  —  and,  if  con- 
venient, give  them  Tahiti  straight,  and  keep  all 
the  rest  for  the  next  party  that  came  along. 

As  soon  as  we  were  within  hailing  distance,  the 
14*  u 


322  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

pilot  came  out  and  took  us  under  his  wing.  We 
kissed  the  hand  of  a  citizen  of  the  new  world,  and, 
for  the  first  time  since  losing  sight  of  the  dear 
California  coast,  dismissed  it  from  our  minds, 
There  was  very  little  wind  right  under  the  great 
green  mountains,  so  the  frigate  Astrea  sent  a 
dozen  boats  to  tow  us  through  the  opening  in  the 
reef  to  our  most  welcome  anchorage.  No  Doge 
of  Venice  ever  cruised  more  majestically  than  we, 
and  our  sea-pageant  was  the  sensation  of  the  day. 

"  Click-click "  went  the  anchor-chains  through 
the  hawse-holes,  down  into  a  deep,  sheltered  bowl 
of  the  sea,  whose  waters  have  never  yet  been  ruf- 
fled by  the  storms  that  beat  upon  the  coral  wall 
around  it.  Along  the  crescent  shores  trees 
dropped  their  yellow  leaves  into  the  water,  and 
tried  their  best  to  bury  the  slim  canoes  drawn 
up  among  their  roots.  Beyond  this  barricade 
of  verdure  the  eye  caught  glimpses  of  every 
sort  of  tropical  habitation  imaginable,  together  with 
the  high  roofs  and  ponderous  white  walls  of  the 
French  government  buildings.  The  foliage  broke 
over  the  little  town  like  a  green  sea,  and  every 
possibility  of  a  good  view  of  it  was  lost  in  the  in- 
undation. Above  it  towered  the  sublime  crest  of 
the  mountain,  with  a  strip  of  cloud  about  its  mid- 
dle in  true  savage  fashion.  Perpetual  harvest  lay 
in  its  lap,  and  it  basked  in  the  smile  of  God. 

Twilight,  fragrant  and  cool ;  a  fruity  flavor  in 
the  air,  a  flower-like  tint  in  sea  and  sky,  the  ship's 


IN  A    TRANSPORT.  323 

boat  waiting  to  convey  us  shoreward.  .  .  .  O 
Thanaron,  my  Thanaron,  with  your  arms  about 

rny  neck,  and  B 's  arms  about  you,  and  Nero 

clinging  to  his  master's  knees,  —  in  fact,  with 
everybody  felicitating  every  other  body,  because 
it  was  such  an  evening  as  descends  only  upon  the 
chosen  places  of  the  earth,  and  because,  having 
completed  our  voyage  in  safety,  we  were  all  liter- 
ally in  a  transport ! 


A  PRODIGAL  IN  TAHITI. 


ET  this  confession  be  topped  with  a  vig- 
nette  done  in  broad,  shadowless  lines  and 
few  of  them,  —  something  like  this  :  — 

A  little,  flyblown  room,  smelling  of  garlic  ;  I 
cooling  my  elbows  on  the  oily  slab  of  a  table 
(breakfast  for  one),  and  looking  through  a  window 
at  a  glaring,  whitewashed  fence  high  enough  to 
shut  out  the  universe  from  my  point  of  sight. 
Yet  it  hid  not  all,  since  it  brought  into  relief  a 
panting  cock  (with  one  leg  in  a  string),  which  had 
so  strained  to  compress  itself  into  a  doubtful  inch 
of  shade  that  its  suspended  claw  clutched  the  air 
in  real  agony. 

Having  dazzled  my  eyes  with  this  prospect,  I 
turned  gratefully  to  the  vanities  of  life  that  may 
be  had  for  two  francs  in  Tahiti.  Vide  bill  of  fare  : 
One  fried  egg,  like  the  eye  of  some  gigantic  Albi- 
no ;  potatoes  hollowed  out  bombshell  fashion, 
primed  with  liver-sausage,  very  ingenious  and  pala- 
table ;  the  naked  corpse  of  a  fowl  that  cared  not 


A  PRODIGAL   IN   TAHITI.  325 

to  live  longer,  from  appearances,  yet  looked  not 
happy  in  death. 

Item :  Wonder  if  there  is  a  more  ghastly  spec- 
tacle than  a  chicken  cooked  in  the  French  style ; 
its  knees  drawn  up  on  its  breast  like  an  Indian 
mummy,  while  its  blue-back,  parboiled,  and  mel- 
ancholy visage  tearfully  surveys  its  own  unshroud- 
ed  remains.  After  a  brief  season  of  meditation  I 
said,  and  I  trust  I  meant  it,  "  I  thank  the  Lord 
for  all  these  blessings."  Then  I  gave  the  corpse 
of  the  chicken  Christian  burial  under  a  fold  of 
the  window  curtain,  disposed  of  the  fried  eye  of  the 
Albino,  and  transformed  myself  into  a  mortar  for 
the  time  being,  taking  potato-bombshells  according 
to  my  calibre. 

There  was  claret  all  the  while  and  plenty  of 
butterless  roll,  a  shaving  of  cheese,  a  banana,  black 
coffee  and  cognac,  when  I  turned  again  to  dazzle 
myself  with  the  white  fence,  and  saw  with  infinite 
pity,  —  a  sentiment  perhaps  not  unmixed  with  a 
suspicion  of  cognac  or  some  other  temporary  hu- 
manizing element,  —  I  saw  for  a  fact  that  the 
poor  cock  had  wilted,  and  lay  flat  in  the  sun  like  a 
last  year's  duster.  That  was  too  much  for  me.  I 
wheeled  towards  the  door  where  gleamed  the  bay 
with  its  lovely  ridges  of  light ;  canoes  drifting 
over  it  drew  the  eye  after  them  irresistibly ;  I 
heard  the  ship-caikers  on  the  beach  making  their 
monotonous  clatter,  and  the  drone  of  the  bare- 
headed fruitsellers  squatted  in  rows  chatting  in- 


326  SOUTH  SEA   IDYLS. 

dolently,  with  their  eyes  half  shut.  I  could  think 
of  nothing  but  bees  humming  over  their  own 
sweet  wares. 

About  this  time  a  young  fellow  at  the  next 
table,  who  had  scarcely  a  mouthful  of  English  at 
his  command,  implored  me  to  take  beer  with  him ; 
implying  that  we  might,  if  desirable,  become  as- 
tight  as  two  bricks.  I  declined,  much  to  his  ad- 
miration, he  regarding  my  refusal  as  a  clear  case 
of  moral  courage,  whereas  it  arose  simply  and 
solely  from  my  utter  inability  to  see  his  treat  and 
go  him  one  better. 

A  grown  person  in  Tahiti  has  an  eating  hour 
allotted  to  him  twice  a  day,  at  10  A.  M.  and  5 
P.M.  My  time  being  up,  I  returned  to  the  store  in 
an  indifferent  frame  of  mind,  and  upon  entering 
the  presence  of  my  employer,  who  had  arrived  a 
moment  before  me,  I  was  immediately  covered, 
with  the  deep  humiliation  of  servitude  and  with- 
drew to  an  obscure  corner,  while  Monsieur  and 
some  naval  guests  took  absinthe  unblushingly, 
which  was,  of  course,  proper  enough  in  them. 
Call  it  by  what  name  you  will,  you  cannot  sweet- 
en servility  to  my  taste.  Then  why  was  I  there 
and  in  bondage]  The  spirit  of  adventure  that 
keeps  life  in  us,  yet  comes  near  to  worrying  it  out 
of  us  now  and  then,  lured  me  with  my  handful  of 
dollars  to  the  Garden  of  the  Pacific.  "  You  can 
easily  get  work,"  said  some  one  who  had  been 
there  and  did  n't  want  it.  If  work  I  must,  why 


A   PRODIGAL   IN   TAHITI.  327 

not  better  there  than  here  ]  thought  I ;  and  the 
less  money  I  take  with  me  the  surer  am  I  to  seek 
that  which  might  not  attract  me  under  other  cir- 
cumstances. A  few  letters  which  proved  almost 
valueless ;  an  abiding  trust  in  Providence,  after- 
ward somewhat  shaken  I  am  sorry  to  state,  which 
convinces  me  that  I  can  no  longer  hope  to  travel 
as  a  shorn  lamb ;  considerable  confidence  in  the 
good  feeling  of  my  fellow-men,  together  with  the 
few  dollars  above  referred  to,  —  comprised  my  all 
when  I  set  foot  on  the  leaf-strewn  and  shady 
beach  of  Papeete. 

Before  the  day  was  over  I  saw  my  case  was 
almost  hopeless ;  I  was  one  too  many  in  a  very 
meagre  congregation  of  foreigners.  In  a  week  I 
was  desperate,  with  poverty  and  disgrace  brooding 
like  evil  spirits  on  either  hand.  Every  ten  min- 
utes some  one  suggested  something  which  was 
almost  immediately  suppressed  by  the  next  man 
I  met,  to  whom  I  applied  for  further  information. 
Teach,  said  one  :  there  was  n't  a  pupil  to  be  had  in 
the  dominion.  Clerkships  were  out  of  the  ques- 
tion likewise.  I  might  keep  store,  if  I  could  get 
anything  to  put  in  it ;  or  go  farther,  as  some  one 
suggested,  if  I  had  money  enough  to  get  there.  I 
thought  it  wiser  to  endure  the  ills  I  had  than  fly 
to  others  that  I  knew  not  of.  In  this  state  I  per- 
ambulated the  green  lanes  of  Papeete,  conscious 
that  I  was  drawing  down  tons  of  immaterial  sym- 
pathy from  hearts  of  various  nationalities,  beat- 


328  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

ing  to  the  music  of  regular  salaries  in  hard  cash, 
and  the  inevitable  ringing  of  their  daily  dinner- 
bell  ;  and  I  continued  to  perambulate  under  the 
same  depressing  avalanches  for  a  fortnight  or 
more,  — a  warning  to  the  generation  of  the  inexperi- 
enced that  persists  in  sowing  itself  broadcast  upon 
the  edges  of  the  earth,  and  learns  too  late  how 
hard  a  thing  it  is  to  take  root  under  the  circum- 
stances. 

One  gloomy  day  I  was  seized  in  the  market- 
place and  led  before  a  French  gentleman  who 
offered  me  a  bed  and  board  for  such  manual  com- 
pensation as  I  might  be  able  to  give  him  in  his 
office  during  the  usual  business  hours,  namely,  from 
daybreak  to  some  time  in  the  afternoon,  unless  it 
rained,  when  business  was  suspended,  and  I  was 
dropped  until  fair  weather  should  set  that  little 
world  wagging  again. 

I  was  invited  to  enter  into  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  in  fact,  to  be  one  of  them,  and  no  single 
man  could  ask  to  be  more  ;  to  sit  at  his  table  and 
hope  for  better  days,  in  which  diversion  he  pro- 
posed to  join  me  with  all  his  soul. 

With  an  emotion  of  gratitude  and  a  pang  at 
being  thus  early  a  subject  of  charity,  I  began  busi- 
ness in  Papeete,  and  learned  within  the  hour  how 
sharper  than  most  sharps  it  is  to  know  only  your 
own  mother -tongue  when  you  're  away  from  home. 

Nightly  I  walked  two  hot  and  dusty  miles 
through  groves  of  bread-fruit  and  colonnades  of 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITI.  329 

palms  to  my  new  master's.  I  skirted,  with  loiter- 
ing steps,  a  placid  sea  whose  crystalline  depths 
sheltered  leagues  and  leagues  of  sun-painted  corals, 
where  a  myriad  fish,  dyed  like  the  rainbow,  sport- 
ed unceasingly.  Springs  gushed  from  the  moun- 
tain, singing  their  song  of  joy ;  the  winds  sang  in 
the  dark  locks  of  the  sycamore,  while  the  palm- 
boughs  clashed  like  cymbals  in  rhythmical  accom- 
paniment ;  glad  children  chanted  their  choruses, 
and  I  alone  couldn't  sing,  nor  hum,  nor  whistle, 
because  it  does  n't  pay  to  work  for  your  board,  and 
settle  for  little  necessities  out  of  your  own  pocket, 
in  any  latitude  that  I  ever  heard  of. 

We  lived  in  a  grove  of  ten  thousand  cocoa- 
palms  crowning  a  hill-slope  to  the  west.  How  all- 
sufficient  it  sounds  as  I  write  it  now,  but  how  lit- 
tle I  cared  then,  for  many  reasons !  My  cottage 
had  prior  tenants,  who  disputed  possession  with 
me,  —  winged  tenants  who  sought  admission  at 
every  cranny  and  frequently  obtained  it  in  spite 
of  me ;  these  were  not  angels,  but  hens.  My  cot- 
tage had  been  a  granary  until  it  got  too  poor  a  re- 
ceptacle for  grains,  and  a  better  shelter  left  it  open 
to  the  barn-fowls  until  I  arrived.  They  hated  me, 
these  hungry  chickens  ;  they  used  to  sit  in  rows 
on  the  window-sill  and  stare  me  out  of  counte- 
nance. A  wide  bedstead,  corded  with  thongs,  did 
its  best  to  furnish  my  apartment.  A  narrow,  a 
very  narrow  and  thin  ship's  mattress,  that  had 
been  a  bed  of  torture  for  many  a  sea-sick  soul  be- 


330  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

fore  it  descended  to  me  ;  a  flat  pillow  like  a  pan- 
cake ;  a  condemned  horse-blanket  contributed  by  a 
good-natured  Kanack  who  raked  it  from  a  heap 
of  refuse  in  the  yard,  together  with  two  sacks  of 
rice,  the  despair  of  those  hens  in  the  window, 
were  all  I  could  boast  of.  With  this  inventory  I 
strove  (by  particular  request)  to  be  one  of  those 
who  were  comfortable  enough  in  the  chateau  ad- 
joining. Summoned  peremptorily  to  dinner,  I 
entered  a  little  latticed  saloon  connected  with  the 
chateau  by  a  covered  walk,  discovered  Monsieur 
seated  at  table  arid  already  served  with  soup 
and  claret ;  the  remainder  of  the  company  helped 
themselves  as  they  best  could  ;  and  I  saw  plainly 
enough  that  the  family  bosom  was  so  crowded 
already,  that  I  might  seek  in  vain  to  wedge  my- 
self into  any  corner  of  it,  at  least  until  some 
vacancy  occurred. 

After  dinner,  sat  on  a  sack  of  rice  in  my  room 
while  it  grew  dark  and  Monsieur  received  calls ; 
wandered  down  to  the  beach  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  and  lay  a  long  time  on  a  bed  of  leaves,  while 
the  tide  was  out  and  the  crabs  clattered  along 
shore  and  were  very  sociable.  Natives  began  to 
kindle  their  evening  fires  of  cocoa-nut  husks ; 
smoke,  sweet  as  incense,  climbed  up  to  the  plumes 
of  the  palm-trees  and  was  lost  among  the  stars. 
Morsels  of  fish  and  bread-fruit  were  offered  rne  by 
the  untutored  savage,  who  welcomed  me  to  his 
frugal  meal  and  desired  that  T  should  at  least 


A   PRODIGAL   IN   TAHITI.  331 

taste  before  he  broke  his  fast.  Canoes  shot  out 
from  dense,  shadowy  points,  fishers  standing  in 
the  bows  with  a  poised  spear  in  one  hand ;  a  blaz- 
ing palm-branch  held  aloft  in  the  other  shed  a 
warm  glow  of  light  over  their  superb  nakedness. 
Bathed  by  the  sea,  in  a  fresh,  cool  spring,  and  re- 
turned to  my  little  coop,  which  was  illuminated 
by  the  glare  of  fifty  floating  beacons ;  looking 
back  from  the  door  I  could  see  the  dark  outlines 
of  the  torch-bearers  and  hear  their  signal  calls 
above  the  low  growl  of  the  reef  a  half-mile  farther 
out  from  shore.  It  was  a  blessing  to  lie  awake  in 
my  little  room  and  watch  the  flicker  of  those 
fires  ;  to  think  how  Tahiti  must  look  on  a  cloud- 
less night  from  some  heavenly  altitude,  —  the 
ocean  still  as  death,  the  procession  of  fishermen 
sweeping  from  point  to  point  within  the  reef,  till 
the  island,  flooded  with  starlight  and  torchlight, 
lies  like  a  green  sea-garden  in  a  girdle  of  flame. 

A  shrill  bell  called  me  from  my  bed  at  dawn. 
I  was  not  unwilling  to  rise,  for  half  the  night  I 
lay  like  a  saint  on  the  tough  thongs,  having  turned 
over  in  sleep,  thereby  missing  the  mattress  en- 
tirely. Made  my  toilet  at  a  spring  on  the  way 
into  town ;  saw  a  glorious  sunrise  that  was  as  good 
as  breakfast,  and  found  the  whole  earth  and  sea 
and  all  that  in  them  is  singing  again  while  I  lis- 
tened and  gave  thanks  for  that  privilege.  At  10 
A.  M.  I  went  to  breakfast  in  the  small  restaurant 
where  I  have  sketched  myself  at  the  top  of  this 


332  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

chronicle,  and  whither  we  may  return  and  begin 
over  again  if  it  please  you. 

I  was  about  to  remark  that  probably  most  mel- 
ancholy and  homesickness  may  be  cured  or  allevi- 
ated by  a  wholesome  meal  of  victuals  ;  but  I  think 
I  won't,  for,  on  referring  to  my  note-book,  I  find  that 
within  an  hour  after  my  return  to  the  store  I  was  as 
heart-sick  as  ever  and  was  n't  afraid  to  say  so.  It 
is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at :  the  sky  was  dark  ; 
aboard  a  schooner  some  sailors  were  making  that 
doleful  whine  peculiar  to  them,  as  they  hauled  in 
to  shore  and  tied  up  to  a  tree  in  a  sifting  rain  ; 
then  everything  was  ominously  still  as  though 
something  disagreeable  were  about  to  happen ; 
thereupon  I  doubled  myself  over  the  counter  like 
a  half-shut  jack-knife,  and  burying  my  face  in  rny 
hands  said  to  myself,  U0,  to  be  alone  with  Na- 
ture !  her  silence  is  religion  and  her  sounds  sweet 
music."  After  which  the  rain  blew  over,  and  I 
was  sent  with  a  hand-cart  and  one  underfed  Ka- 
nack  to  a  wharf  half  a  mile  away  to  drag  back  sev- 
eral loads  of  potatoes.  We  two  hungry  creatures 
struggled  heroically  to  do  our  duty.  Starting 
with  a  multitude  of  sacks  it  was  quite  impossible 
to  proceed  with,  we  grew  weaker  the  farther  we 
went,  so  that  the  load  had  to  be  reduced  from 
time  to  time,  and  I  believe  the  amount  of  pota- 
toes deposited  by  the  way  considerably  exceeded 
the  amount  we  subsequently  arrived  at  the  store 
with.  Finding  life  a  burden,  and  seeing  the  legs 


A  PRODIGAL    IN   TAHITI. 


333 


of  the  young  fellow  in  harness  with  me  bend  un- 
der him  in  his  frantic  efforts  to  get  our  cart  out 
of  a  rut  without  emptying  it  entirely,  I  resolved 
to  hire  a  substitute  at  my  own  expense,  and  save 
my  remaining  strength  for  a  new  line  of  business. 
Thus  I  was  enabled  to  sit  on  the  wharf  the  rest 
of  the  afternoon  and  enjoy  myself  devising  new 
means  of  subsistence  and  watching  the  natives 
swim. 

Some  one  before  me  found  a  modicum  of  sweets 
in  his  cup  of  bitterness,  and  in  a  complacent  hour 
set  the  good  against  the  evil  in  single  entry,  sum- 
ming up  the  same  to  his  advantage.  I  concluded 
to  do  it  myself,  and  did  it,  thus  :  — 


EVIL. 

I  find  myself  in  a  foreign 
land  with  no  one  to  love  and 
none  to  love  me. 

I  am  working  for  my  board 
and  lodging  (no  extras),  and 
find  it  very  unprofitable. 


My  clothes  are  in  rags.  I 
shall  soon  be  without  a  stitch 
to  my  back. 

I  get  hungry  before  break- 
fast and  feel  faint  after  dinner. 
What  are  two  meals  a  day  to  a 
man  of  my  appetite  ? 


GOOD. 

But   I  may  do  as    I 
in  consequence,  and  it  is  no- 
body's business  save  my  own. 

But  I  may  quit  as  soon  as  I 
feel  like  it,  and  shall  have  no 
occasion  to  dun  my  employer 
for  back  salary  so  long  as  I 
stop  with  him. 

But  the  weather  is  mild  and 
the  fig-tree  flourisheth.  More- 
over many  a  good  savage  has 
gone  naked  before  me. 

But  fasting  is  saintly.  Day 
by  day  I  grow  more  spiritual, 
and  shall  shortly  be  a  fit  sub- 
ject for  translation  to  that  bet- 
ter world  which  is  doubtless 
the  envy  of  all  those  who  have 
lost  it  by  over  eating  and 
drinking. 


334  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  satisfaction  with  which 
I  read  and  re-read  this  philosophical  summary,  but 
I  had  relapses  every  few  minutes  so  long  as  I  lived 
in  Tahiti.  I  remember  one  Sunday  morning,  a 
day  I  had  all  to  myself,  when  I  cried  out  of  the 
depths  and  felt  better  after  it.  It  was  a  real  Sun- 
day. The  fowls  confessed  it  by  the  indifference 
with  which  they  picked  up  a  grain  of  rice  now 
and  then  as  though  they  were  n't  hungry.  The 
family  were  moving  about  in  an  unnatural  way  ; 
some  people  are  never  themselves  on  the  Lord's 
day.  The  canoes  lay  asleep  off  upon  the  water, 
evidently  conscious  of  the  long  hours  of  rest  they 
were  sure  of  having.  To  sum  it  all,  it  seemed  as 
though  the  cover  had  been  taken  off  from  the 
earth,  and  the  angels  were  sitting  in  big  circles 
looking  at  us.  Our  clock  had  run  down,  and  I 
found  myself  half  an  hour  too  early  at  mass. 
Some  diminutive  native  children  talked  together 
with  infinite  gesticulation,  like  little  old  men. 
At  every  lag  in  the  conversation,  two  or  three 
of  them  would  steal  away  to  the  fence  that  sur- 
rounded the  church  and  begin  diligently  count- 
ing the  pickets  thereof.  They  were  evidently 
amazed  at  what  they  considered  a  singular  coinci- 
dence, namely,  that  the  number  of  pickets,  begin- 
ning at  the  front  gate  and  counting  to  the  right, 
tallied  exactly  with  the  do.  do.  beginning  at  the 
do.  do.  and  counting  to  the  left ;  while  they  were 
making  repeated  efforts  to  get  at  the  heart  of  this 


A  PRODIGAL   IN    TAHITI.  335 

mystery,  the  priest  rode  up  on  horseback,  dis- 
mounted in  our  midst,  and  we  all  followed  him 
into  chapel  to  mass. 

A  young  Frenchman  offered  me  holy- water  on 
the  tips  of  his  fingers,  and  I  immediately  decided 
to  confide  in  him  to  an  unlimited  extent  if  he 
gave  me  the  opportunity.  It  was  a  serious  disap- 
pointment when  I  found  later,  that  we  did  n't 
know  six  words  in  any  common  tongue.  Conclud- 
ed to  be  independent  and  walked  off  by  myself. 
Got  very  Ioii3some  immediately.  Tried  to  be 
meditative,  philosophical,  botanical,  conchological, 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  gave  it  up,  —  homesick 
again,  by  Jove  ! 

Strolled  to  the  beach  and  sat  a  long  time  on  a 
bit  of  wreck  partly  imbedded  in  the  sand ;  consoled 
by  the  surpassing  radiance  of  sunset,  wondered 
how  I  could  ever  have  repined,  but  proceeded  to 
do  it  again  as  soon  as  it  grew  dark.  Some  natives 
drew  near,  greeting  me  kindly.  They  were  evi- 
dently lovers  ;  talked  in  low  tones,  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  most  trivial  things,  such  as  a  leaf  fall- 
ing into  the  sea  at  our  feet  and  floating  stem  up, 
like  a  bowsprit ;  he  probably  made  some  poetic 
allusion  to  it,  may  have  proposed  braving  the  seas 
with  her  in  a  shallop  as  fairy-like,  for  both  fell  a 
dreaming  and  were  silent  for  some  time,  he  wor- 
shipping her  with  fascinated  eyes,  while  she,  wo- 
man-like, pretended  to  be  all  unconscious  of  his 
admiration. 


336  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

Silently  we  sat  looking  over  the  sea  at  Moorea, 
just  visible  in  the  light  of  the  young  moon,  like  a 
spirit  brooding  upon  the  waters,  till  I  broke  the 
spell  by  saying  "Good  night,"  which  was  repeated 
in  a  chorus  as  I  withdrew  to  my  coop  and  found 
my  feathered  guests  had  beaten  in  the  temporary 
barricade  erected  in  the  broken  window,  entered 
and  made  themselves  at  home  during  my  absence, 
—  a  fact  that  scarcely  endeared  the  spot  to  me. 
Next  morning  I  was  unusually  merry  ;  could  n't 
tell  why,  but  tried  to  sing  as  I  made  my  toilet  at 
the  spring ;  laughed  nearly  all  the  way  into  town, 
saying  my  prayers,  and  blessing  God,  when  I 
came  suddenly  upon  a  horse-shoe  in  the  middle  of 
the  road.  Took  it  as  an  omen  and  a  keepsake ; 
horse-shoes  are  n't  shed  everywhere  nor  for  every- 
body. I  thought  it  the  prophecy  of  a  change, 
and  at  once  cancelled  my  engagement  with  my 
employer  without  having  set  foot  into  his  house 
farther  than  the  dining-room,  or  made  any  appar- 
ent impression  upon  the  adamantine  bosom  of  his 
family. 

After  formally  expressing  iny  gratitude  to  Mon- 
sieur for  his  renewed  offers  of  hospitality,  I  turned 
myself  into  the  street,  and  was  once  more  adrift 
in  the  world.  For  the  space  of  three  minutes  I 
was  wild  with  joy  at  the  thought  of  my  perfect 
liberty.  Then  I  grew  nervous,  began  to  feel  un- 
happy, nay,  even  guilty,  as  though  I  had  thrown 
up  a  good  thing.  Concluded  it  was  rash  of  me  to 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITI.  337 

leave  a  situation  where  I  got  two  meals  and  a  mat- 
tress, with  the  privilege  of  washing  at  my  own  ex- 
pense. Am  not  sure  that  it  was  n't  unwise,  for  I 
had  no  dinner  that  afternoon ;  and  having  110  bed 
either,  I  crept  into  the  veranda  of  a  house  to  let 
and  dozed  till  daybreak. 

There  was  but  one  thing  to  live  for  now,  name- 
ly, to  see  as  much  of  Tahiti  as  possible,  and  at  my 
earliest  convenience  return  like  the  prodigal  son  to 
that  father  who  would  doubtless  feel  like  killing 
something  appropriate  as  soon  as  he  saw  me  coin- 
ing. I  said  as  much  to  a  couple  of  Frenchmen, 
brothers,  who  are  living  a  dream-life  over  yonder, 
and  whose  wildest  species  of  dissipation  for  the 
last  seven  years  has  been  to  rise  at  intervals  from 
their  settees  in  the  arbor,  go  deliberately  to  the 
farther  end  of  the  garden  and  eat  several  mangoes 
in  cold  blood. 

To  comprehend  Tahiti,  a  man  must  lose  him- 
self in  forests  whose  resinous  boughs  are  knotted 
with  ribbons  of  sea-grass ;  there,  overcome  by  the 
music  of  sibilant  waters  sifting  through  the  ant- 
lers of  the  coral,  he  is  supposed  to  sink  upon 
drifts  of  orange-blossoms  only  to  be  resuscitated 
by  the  spray  of  an  approaching  shower  crashing 
through  the  green  solitudes  like  an  army  with 
chariots,  —  so  those  brothers  said,  with  a  mango 
poised  in  each  hand ;  and  they  added  that  I  should 
have  an  official  document  addressed  to  the  best 
blood  in  the  kingdom,  namely,  Forty  Chiefs  of 
15  Y 


338  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

Tahiti,  who  would  undoubtedly  entertain  me  with 
true  barbarian  hospitality,  better  the  world  knows 
not.  There  was  a  delay  for  some  reason  ;  I,  rath- 
er impatient,  and  scarcely  hoping  to  receive  so 
graceful  a  compliment  from  head-quarters,  trudged 
on  alone  with  a  light  purse  and  an  infinitesimal 
bundle  of  necessities,  caring  nothing  for  the  weath- 
er nor  the  number  of  miles  cleared  per  day,  since 
I  laid  no  plans  save  the  one,  to  see  as  much  as  I 
might  with  the  best  grace  possible,  keeping  an  eye 
on  the  road  for  horse-shoes.  Through  leagues  of 
verdure  I  wandered,  feasting  my  five  senses  and 
finding  life  a  holiday  at  last.  There  were  num- 
berless streams  to  be  crossed,  where  I  loafed  for 
hours  on  the  bridges,  satisfying  myself  with  sun- 
shine. Not  a  savage  in  the  land  was  freer  than  I. 
No  man  could  say  to  me,  "  Why  stand  ye  here 
idle  ] "  for  I  could  continue  to  stand  as  long  as  I 
liked  and  as  idly  as  it  pleased  me  in  spite  of  him  ! 
There  were  bridgeless  streams  to  be  forded  ;  but  the 
Tahitian  is  a  nomad  continually  wandering  from 
one  edge  of  his  fruitful  world  to  the  other ;  more- 
over, he  is  the  soul  of  peace  towards  men  of  good- 
will :  I  was  invariably  picked  up  by  some  bare- 
backed Hercules,  who  volunteered  to  take  me  over 
the  water  on  his  brawny  brown  shoulders,  and 
could  have  easily  taken  two  like  me.  It  was  good 
to  be  up  there  while  he  strode  through  the  swift 
current,  for  I  felt  that  he  was  perfectly  able  to 
carry  me  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  without  stop- 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITI.  339 

ping,  and  that  sense  of  reliance  helped  to  reassure 
my  faith  in  humanity. 

As  I  wandered,  from  most  native  houses  came 
the  invitation  to  enter  and  eat.  Night  after  night 
I  found  my  bed  in  the  corner  of  some  dwelling 
whither  I  had  been  led  by  the  master  of  it,  with 
unaffected  grace.  It  was  n't  simply  showing  me 
to  a  spare  room,  but  rather  unrolling  the  best  mat 
and  turning  everything  to  my  account  so  long  as 
it  pleased  me  to  tarry.  Sometimes  the  sea  talked 
in  its  sleep  not  a  rod  from  the  house  ;  frequently 
the  mosquitoes  accepted  me  as  a  delicacy  and  did 
their  best  to  dispose  of  me.  Once  I  awoke  with  a 
headache,  the  air  was  so  dense  with  the  odor  of 
orange-blossoms. 

There  was  frequently  a  strip  of  blue  bay  that 
ebbed  and  flowed  languidly  and  had  to  be 
lunched  with ;  or  a  very  deep  and  melodious 
spring,  asking  for  an  interview,  and,  I  may  add,  it 
always  got  it.  I  remember  one  miniature  castle 
built  in  the  midst  of  a  grassy  Venice  by  the  shore. 
Its  moats,  shining  with  gold-fish,  were  spanned 
with  slender  bridges ;  toy  fences  of  bamboo  en- 
closed the  rarer  clumps  of  foliage  ;  and  there  was 
such  an  air  of  tranquillity  pervading  it  I  thought  I 
must  belong  there.  Something  seemed  to  say, 
"  Come  in."  I  went  in,  but  left  very  soon ;  the 
place  was  so  fairy-like,  I  felt  as  though  I  were 
liable  to  step  through  it  and  come  out  on  some 
other  side,  and  I  was  n't  anxious  for  such  a 
change. 


340  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

I  ate  when  I  got  hungry,  a  very  good  sort  of  a 
meal,  consisting  usually  of  a  tiny  piglet  cooked  in 
the  native  fashion,  swathed  in  succulent  leaves 
and  laid  between  hot  stones  till  ready  for  eating ; 
bread-fruit,  like  mashed  potato,  but  a  great  deal 
better;  orange-tea  and  cocoa-rnilk,  surely  enough 
for  two  or  three  francs.  Took  a  sleep  whenever 
sleep  came  along,  resting  always  till  the  clouds  or 
a  shadow  from  the  mountain  covered  me  so  as  to 
keep  cool  and  comfortable.  Natives  passed  me 
with  salutations.  A  white  man  now  and  then 
went  by  barely  nodding,  or  more  frequently  eying 
me  with  suspicion  and  giving  me  as  much  of  his 
dust  as  he  found  convenient.  In  the  wider  fellow- 
ship of  nature,  I  forswore  all  blood  relations  and 
blushed  for  those  representatives  of  my  own  color 
as  I  footed  it  right  royally.  Therefore,  I  was  en- 
abled to  scorn  the  fellow  who  scorned  me  while  he 
flashed  the  steel  hoofs  of  his  charger  in  my  face 
and  dashed  on  to  the  village  we  were  both  ap- 
proaching with  the  dusk. 

What  a  spot  it  was  !  A  long  lane  as  green  as  a 
spring  meadow,  lying  between  wall-like  masses  of 
foliage  whose  deep  arcades  were  frescoed  with  blos- 
soms and  festooned  with  vines.  It  seemed  a  path- 
way leading  to  infinity,  for  the  blood-red  bars  of 
sunset  glared  at  its  farther  end  as  though  Provi- 
dence had  placed  them  there  to  keep  out  the  un- 
regenerated.  Not  a  house  visible  all  this  time, 
nor  a  human,  though  I  was  in  the  heart  of  the 


A  PRODIGAL   IN   TAHITI.  341 

hamlet.  Passing  up  the  turf-cushioned  road  I 
beheld  on  either  hand,  through  a  screen  of  leaves, 
a  log  spanning  a  rivulet  that  was  softly  singing  its 
monody  ;  at  the  end  of  each  log  the  summer- 
house  of  some  Tahitian,  who  sat  in  his  door  smok- 
ing complacently.  It  was  a  picture  of  still  life 
with  a  suggestion  of  possible  motion ;  a  village  to 
put  into  a  greenhouse,  water,  and  keep  fresh  for- 
ever. Let  me  picture  it  once  more,  —  one  mossy 
street  between  two  babbling  brooks,  and  every 
house  thereof  set  each  in  its  own  moated  wilder- 
ness. This  was  Papeali. 

Like  rows  of  cages  full  of  chirping  birds  those 
bamboo  huts  were  distributed  up  and  down  the 
street.  As  I  walked  I  knew  something  would 
cause  me  to  turn  at  the  right  time  and  find  a  new 
friend  ready  to  receive  me,  for  it  always  does.  So 
I  walked  slowly  and  without  hesitation  or  impa- 
tience until  I  turned  and  met  him  coming  out  of 
his  cage,  crossing  the  rill  by  his  log  and  holding 
out  his  hand  to  me  in  welcome.  Back  we  went 
together,  and  I  ate  and  slept  there  as  though  it 
had  been  arranged  a  thousand  years  ago  ;  perhaps 
it  was  !  There  was  a  racket  up  at  the  farther  end 
of  the  lane,  by  the  chief's  house ;  songs  and  nose- 
fiu tings  upon  the  night  air;  moreover,  a  bonfire 
and  doubtless  much  nectar,  —  too  much,  as  usual, 
for  I  heard  such  cheers  as  the  soul  gives  when  it  is 
careless  of  consequences,  and  caught  a  glimpse  of 
the  joys  of  barbarism  such  as  even  we  poor  Chris- 


342  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

tians  cannot  wholly  withstand,  but  turning  our 
backs  think  we  are  safe  enough.  Commend  me  to 
him  who  has  known  temptation  and  not  shunned 
it,  but  actually  withstood  it ! 

It  was  the  dance,  as  ever  it  is  the  dance  where 
all  the  aspirations  of  the  soul  find  expression  in 
the  body ;  those  bodies  that  are  incarnate  souls  or 
those  souls  that  are  spiritualized  bodies,  insepa- 
rable, whatever  they  are,  for  the  time  being.  The 
fire  glowed  fervently ;  bananas  hung  out  their  tat- 
tered banners  like  decorations ;  palms  rustled  their 
silver  plumes  aloft  in  the  moonlight;  the  sea 
panted  upon  its  sandy  bed  in  heavy  sleep ;  the 
night-blooming  cereus  opened  its  waxen  chambers 
and  gave  forth  its  treasured  sweets.  Circle  after 
circle  of  swart  savage  faces  were  turned  upon  the 
flame-lit  arena  where  the  dancers  posed  for  a  mo- 
ment with  their  light  drapery  gathered  about  them 
and  held  carelessly  in  one  hand.  Anon  the  music 
chimed  forth,  —  a  reiteration  of  chords  caught 
from  the  birds'  treble  and  the  wind's  bass  ;  full  and 
resounding  syllables,  richly  poetical,  telling  of 
orgies  and  of  the  mysteries  of  the  forbidden  revels 
in  the  charmed  valleys  of  the  gods,  hearing  which 
it  were  impossible  not  to  be  wrought  to  madness  ; 
and  the  dancers  thereat  went  mad,  dancing  with 
infinite  gesticulation,  dancing  to  whirlwinds  of  ap- 
plause till  the  undulation  of  their  bodies  was 
serpentine,  and  at  last  in  frenzy  they  shrieked 
with  joy,  threw  off  their  garments,  and  were  na- 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITI.  343 

ked  as  the  moon.  So  much  for  a  vision  that  kept 
me  awake  till  morning,  when  I  plodded  on  in  the 
damp  grass  and  tried  to  forget  it,  but  could  n't  ex- 
actly and  never  have  to  this  hour.  Went  on  and 
on  over  more  bridges  spanning  still-flowing  streams 
of  silver,  past  springs  that  lay  like  great  crystals 
framed  in  moss  under  dripping,  fern-clad  cliffs  that 
the  sun  never  reaches.  Came  at  last  to  a  shining, 
whitewashed  fort,  on  an  eminence  that  commands 
the  isthmus  connecting  the  two  hemispheres  of 
Tahiti,  where  down  I  dropped  into  a  narrow  valley 
full  of  wind  and  discord  and  a  kind  of  dreary 
neglect  that  made  me  sick  for  any  other  place. 
More  refreshment  for  the  wayfarer,  but  to  be  paid 
for  by  the  dish,  and  therefore  limited.  Was 
obliged  to  hate  a  noisy  fellow  with  too  much  bushy 
black  beard  and  a  freckled  nose,  and  to  like  anoth- 
er who  eyed  me  kindly  over  his  absinthe,  having 
first  mixed  a  glass  for  me.  A  native  asked  me 
where  I  was  going ;  being  unable  to  give  any  sat- 
isfactory answer,  he  conducted  me  to  his  canoe, 
about  a  mile  distant,  where  he  cut  a  sapling  for  a 
mast,  another  for  a  gaff,  twisted,  in  a  few  moments, 
a  cord  of  its  fibrous  bark,  rigged  a  sail  of  his 
sleeping-blanket,  and  we  were  shortly  wafted  on- 
ward before  a  light  breeze  between  the  reef  and 
shore. 

Three  of  us  with  a  bull-pup  in  the  bows  dozed 
under  the  afternoon  sun.  He  of  the  paddle  awoke 
now  and  then  to  shift  sail,  beat  the  sea  impetuous- 


344  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

ly  for  a  few  seconds,  and  fall  asleep  again.  Voices 
roused  me  occasionally,  greetings  from  colonies  of 
indolent  Kanacks  on  shore,  whose  business  it  was 
to  sit  there  till  they  got  hungry,  laughing  weari- 
ness to  scorn. 

Close  upon  our  larboard-bow  lay  one  of  the  is- 
lands that  had  bewitched  me  as  I  paced  the  shore 
but  a  few  days  previous ;  under  us  the  meas- 
ureless gardens  of  the  sea  unmasked  a  myriad, 
imperishable  blossoms,  centuries  old  some  of 
them,  but  as  fair  and  fresh  as  though  born  within 
the  hour.  All  that  afternoon  we  drifted  between 
sea  and  shore,  and  beached  at  sunset  in  a  new 
land.  Foot-sore  and  weary,  I  approached  a  stable 
from  which  thrice  a  week  stages  were  despatched 
to  Papeete. 

A  modern  pilgrim  finds  his  scrip  cumbersome, 
if  he  has  any,  and  deems  it  more  profitable  to 
pay  his  coachman  than  his  cobbler. 

I  climbed  to  my  seat  by  the  jolly  French  driver, 
who  was  continually  chatting  with  three  merry 
nuns  sitting  just  back  of  us,  returning  to  the  con- 
vent in  Papeete  after  a  vacation  retreat  among  the 
hills.  How  they  enjoyed  the  ride,  as  three  children 
might !  and  were  quite  wild  with  delight  at  meet- 
ing a  corpulent  pere,  who  smiled  amiably  from  his 
saddle  and  offered  to  show  them  the  interior  of 
the  pretty  chapel  at  Faaa  (only  three  a's  in  that 
word),  —  the  very  one  I  grew  melancholy  in  when  I 
was  a  man  of  business. 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITI.  345 

So  they  hurled  themselves  madly  from  the  high 
seat,  one  after  the  other,  scorning  to  touch  any- 
thing so  contaminating  as  a  man's  hand,  though  it 
looked  suicidal,  as  the  driver  and  I  agreed  while 
the  three  were  at  prayers  by  the  altar.  Whipping 
up  over  the  road  townward,  I  could  almost  recog- 
nize my  own  footprints  left  since  the  time  I  used 
to  take  the  dust  in  my  face  three  mornings  a  week 
from  the  wheels  of  that  very  vehicle  as  I  footed  it 
in  to  business.  Passing  the  spring,  my  toilet  of 
other  days,  drawing  to  the  edge  of  the  town,  we 
stopped  being  jolly  and  were  as  proper  as  befitted 
travellers.  We  looked  over  the  wall  of  the  con- 
vent garden  as  we  drove  up  to  the  gate,  and  saw 
the  mother-superior  hurrying  down  to  us  with  a 
cumbersome  chair  for  the  relief  of  the  nuns,  but 
before  she  reached  us  they  had  cast  themselves  to 
earth  again  in  the  face  of  destiny,  and  there  was 
kissing,  crying,  and  commotion  as  they  withdrew 
under  the  gateway  like  so  many  doves  seeking 
shelter.  When  the  gate  closed  after  them,  I  heard 
them  all  cooing  at  once,  but  the  world  knows  noth- 
ing further. 

Where  would  I  be  dropped  1  asked  the  driver. 
In  the  middle  of  the  street,  please  you,  and  take 
half  my  little  whole  for  your  ride,  sir !  He  took 
it,  dropped  me  w.here  we  stood,  and  drove  away,  I 
pretending  to  be  very  much  at  my  ease.  God  help 
me  and  all  poor  hypocrites  ! 

I  sought  a  place  of  shelter,  or  rather  retirement, 
15* 


346  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

for  the  air  is  balm  in  that  country.  There  was  an 
old  house  in  the  middle  of  a  grassy  lawn  on  a  by- 
street ;  two  of  its  rooms  were  furnished  with  a 
few  papers  and  books,  and  certain  gentlemen  who 
contribute  to  its  support  lounge  in  when  they  have 
leisure  for  reading  or  a  chat.  I  grew  to  know  the 
place  familiarly.  I  stole  a  night's  lodging  on  its 
veranda  in  the  shadow  of  a  passion-vine ;  but,  for 
fear  of  embarrassing  some  early  student  in  pursuit 
of  knowledge,  I  passed  the  second  night  on  the 
floor  of  the  dilapidated  cook-house,  where  the  ants 
covered  me.  I  endured  the  tortures  of  one  who 
bares  his  body  to  an  unceasing  shower  of  sparks ; 
but  I  survived. 

There  was,  in  this  very  cook-house,  a  sink  six  feet 
in  length  and  as  wide  as  a  coffin  ;  the  third  night 
I  lay  like  a  galvanized  corpse  with  his  lid  off  till  a 
rat  sought  to  devour  me,  when  I  took  to  the  streets 
and  walked  till  morning.  By  this  time  the  presi- 
dent of  the  club,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  the 
honor  of,  tendered  me  the  free  use  of  any  portion  of 
the  premises  that  might  not  be  otherwise  engaged. 
With  a  gleam  of  hope  I  began  my  explorations. 
Up  a  narrow  and  winding  stair  I  found  a  spacious 
loft.  It  was  like  a  mammoth  tent,  a  solitary  cen- 
tre-pole its  only  ornament.  Creeping  into  it  on  all- 
fours,  I  found  a  fragment  of  matting,  a  dry  crust, 
an  empty  soda-bottle,  —  footprints  on  the  sands 
of  time. 

"Poor  soul!"  I  gasped,  " where  did  you  come 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITI.  347 

from1?  What  did  you  come  for?  Whither,  0, 
whither,  have  you  flown  1 " 

I  might  have  added,  How  did  you  manage  to  get 
there  1  But  the  present  was  so  important  a  consid- 
eration, I  had  no  heart  to  look  beyond  it.  The 
next  ten  nights  I  passed  in  the  silent  and  airy 
apartment  of  my  anonymous  predecessor.  Ten 
nights  I  crossed  the  unswept  floor  that  threatened 
at  every  step  to  precipitate  me  into  the  reading- 
room  below.  With  a  faint  heart  and  hollow  stom- 
ach I  threw  myself  upon  my  elbow  and  strove  to 
sleep.  I  lay  till  my  heart  stopped  beating,  my 
joints  were  wooden,  and  my  four  limbs  corky  be- 
yond all  hope  of  reanimation.  There  the  mosquito 
revelled,  and  it  was  a  promising  place  for  centi- 
pedes. 

At  either  end  of  the  building  an  open  window 
admitted  the  tip  of  a  banana-leaf;  up  their  green 
ribs  the  sprightly  mouse  careered.  I  broke  the 
backbones  of  these  banana-leaves,  though  they 
were  the  joy  of  my  soul  and  would  have  adorned 
the  choicest  conservatory  in  the  land.  Day  was 
equally  unprofitable  to  me.  My  best  friends 
said,  "Why  not  return  to  California  1"  Every 
one  I  met  invited  me  to  leave  the  country  at  my 
earliest  convenience.  The  American  consul  se- 
cured me  a  passage,  to  be  settled  for  at  home,  and 
my  career  in  that  latitude  was  evidently  at  an  end. 
In  my  superfluous  confidence  in  humanity,  I  had 
announced  myself  as  a  correspondent  for  the  press. 


348  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

It  was  quite  necessary  that  I  should  give  some 
plausible  reason  for  making  my  appearance  in 
Tahiti  friendless  and  poor.  Therefore,  I  said 
plainly,  "  I  am  a  correspondent,  friendless  and 
poor,"  believing  that  any  one  would  see  truth  in 
the  face  of  it,  with  half  an  eye.  "  Prove  it,"  said 
one  who  knew  more  of  the  world  than  I.  Then 
flashed  upon  me  the  alarming  fact  that  I  could  n't 
prove  it,  having  nothing  whatever  in  my  possession 
referring  to  it  in  the  slightest  degree.  It  was  a  fatal 
mistake  that  might  easily  have  been  avoided,  but 
was  too  well  established  to  be  rectified. 

In  my  chagrin  I  looked  to  the  good  old  bishop 
for  consolation.  Approaching  the  Mission  House 
through  sunlit  cloisters  of  palms,  I  was  greeted 
most  tenderly.  I  would  have  gladly  taken  any 
amount  of  holy  orders  for  the  privilege  of  ending 
my  troublous  days  in  the  sweet  seclusion  of  the 
Mission  House. 

As  it  was,  I  received  a  blessing,  an  autograph 
and  a  "  God  speed "  to  some  other  part  of  crea- 
tion. Added  to  this  I  learned  how  the  address  to 
the  Forty  Chiefs  of  Tahiti  in  behalf  of  the  foreign 
traveller,  my  poor  self,  had  been  despatched  to  me 
by  a  special  courier,  who  found  me  not ;  and  doubt- 
less the  fetes  I  heard  of  and  was  forever  missing 
marked  the  march  of  that  messenger,  my  proxy,  in 
his  triumphal  progress.  In  my  innocent  degrada- 
tion it  was  still  necessary  to  nourish  the  inner 
man. 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITi'.  349 

There  is  a  market  in  Papeete  where,  under  one 
broad  roof,  threescore  hucksters  of  both  sexes  con- 
gregate long  before  daylight,  and,  while  a  few  can- 
dles illumine  their  wares,  patiently  await  custom. 
A  half-dozen  coolies  with  an  eye  to  business  serve 
hot  coffee  and  chocolate  at  a  dime  per  cup  to  any 
who  choose  to  ask  for  it.  By  7  A.  M.  the  market 
is  so  nearly  sold  out  that  only  the  more  plentiful 
fruits  of  the  country  are  to  be  obtained  at  any 
price.  A  prodigal  cannot  long  survive  on  husks, 
unless  he  have  coffee  to  wash  them  down.  I  took 
my  cup  of  it,  with  two  spoonfuls,  of  sugar  and  ants 
dipped  out  of  a  cigar-box,  and  a  crust  of  bread 
into  the  bargain,  sitting  on  a  bench  in  the  market- 
place, with  a  coolie  and  a  Kanack  on  either  hand. 

It  was  not  the  coffee  nor  the  sugared  ants  that 
I  gave  my  dime  for,  but  rather  the  privilege  of 
sitting  in  the  midst  of  men  and  women  who  were 
willing  to  accept  me  as  a  friend  and  helpmate- 
without  questioning  my  ancestry,  and  any  one  of 
whom  would  go  me  halves  in  the  most  disinterest- 
ed manner.  Then  there  was  sure  to  be  some  su- 
perb fellow  close  at  hand,  with  a  sensuous  lip  curled 
under  his  nostril,  a  glimpse  of  which  gave  me  a 
dime's  worth  of  satisfaction  and  more  too.  Hav- 
ing secreted  a  French  roll,  five  cents,  all  hot,  under 
my  coat,  and  gathered  the  bananas  that  would  fall 
in  the  yard  so  seasonably,  I  made  my  day  as  brief 
and  comfortable  as  possible  by  filling  up  with  wa- 
ter from  time  to  time. 


350  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

The  man  who  has  passed  a  grimy  chop-house, 
wherein  a  frowzy  fellow  sat  at  his  cheap  spread, 
without  envying  the  frowzy  fellow  his  cheap  spread, 
cannot  truly  sympathize  with  me. 

The  man  who  has  not  felt  a  great  hollow  in  his 
stomach  which  he  found  necessary  to  fill  at  the 
first  fountain  he  came  to,  or  go  over  on  his  beam 
ends  for  lack  of  ballast,  cannot  fall  upon  my  neck 
and  call  me  brother. 

At  daybreak  I  haunted  those  street  fountains, 
waiting  my  turn  while  French  cooks  filled  almost 
fathomless  kegs,  and  coolies  filled  potbellied  jars, 
and  Kanacks  filled  their  hollow  bamboos  that 
seemed  fully  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.  There 
I  meekly  made  my  toilet,  took  my  first  course  of 
breakfast,  rinsed  out  my  handkerchiefs  and  stock- 
ings, and  went  my  way.  The  whole  performance 
was  embarrassing,  because  I  was  a  novice  and  a 
dozen  people  watched  me  in  curious  silence.  I 
had  also  a  boot  with  a  suction  in  the  toe  ;  there 
is  dust  in  Papeete ;  while  I  walked  that  boot 
loaded  and  discharged  itself  in  a  manner  that 
amazed  an  amused  a  small  mob  of  little  natives 
who  followed  me  in  my  free  exhibition,  advertising 
my  shooting-boot  gratuitously. 

I  was  altogether  shabby  in  my  "outward  appear- 
ance, and  cannot  honestly  upbraid  any  resident  of 
the  town  for  his  neglect  of  me.  1  know  that  I 
suffered  the  agony  of  shame  and  the  pangs  of 
hunger ;  but  they  were  nothing  to  the  utter  lone 


A  PRODIGAL   IN   TAUITT.  -  351 

liness  I  felt  as  I  wandered  about  with  my  heart 
on  my  sleeve,  and  never  a  bite  from  so  much  as 
a  daw. 

Did  you  ever  question  the  possibility  of  a  man's 
temporary  transformation  under  certain  mental, 
moral,  or  physical  conditions  1  There  are  seasons 
when  he  certainly  is  n't  what  he  was,  yet  may  be 
more  and  better  than  he  has  been,  if  you  give  him 
time  enough. 

I  began  to  think  I  had  either  suffered  this  trans- 
formation or  been  maliciously  misinformed  as  to 
my  personality.  Was  I  truly  what  I  represented 
myself  to  be,  or  had  I  been  a  living  deception  all 
my  days?  No  longer  able  to  identify  myself  as 
any  one  in  particular,  it  occurred  to  me  that  it 
would  be  well  to  address  a  few  lines  to  the  gentle- 
man I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  calling  "  father," 
asking  for  some  particulars  concerning  his  absent 
son.  I  immediately  drew  up  this  document  ready 
for  mailing  :  — 

MOSQUITO  HALL, 

CENTIPEDE  AVENUE,  PAPEETE. 

DEAR  SIR  :  A  nondescript  awaits  identification  at 
this  office.  Answers  to  the  names  at  the  foot  of  this 
page,  believes  himself  to  he  your  son,  to  have  been 
your  son,  or  about  to  be  something  equally  near  and 
dear  to  you.  He  can  repeat  several  chapters  of  the 
New  Testament  at  the  shortest  notice  ;  recites  most  of 
the  Catechism  and  Commandments  ;  thinks  he  would 
recognize  two  sisters  and  three  brothers  at  sight,  and 
know  his  mother  with  his  eyes  shut. 


352  SOUTH-SEA   IDYLS. 

He  likewise  confesses  to  the  usual  strawberry-mark 
in  fast  colors.  If  you  will  kindly  send  by  return  mail 
a  few  dollars,  he  will  clothe,  feed,  and  water  himself 
and  return  immediately  to  those  arms  which,  if  his 
memory  does  not  belie  him,  have  more  than  once  shel- 
tered his  unworthy  frame.  I  have,  dear  sir,  the  singu- 
lar fortune  to  be  the  article  above  described. 

The  six  months  which  would  elapse  before  I 
could  hope  for  an  answer  would  probably  have 
found  me  past  all  recognition,  so  I  ceased  crying 
to  the  compassionate  bowels  of  Tom,  Dick,  and 
Harry,  waiting  with  haggard  patience  the  depart- 
ture  of  the  vessel  that  was  to  bear  me  home  with 
a  palpable  C.  0.  D.  tacked  on  to  me.  Those  last 
hours  were  brightened  by  the  delicate  attentions  of 
a  few  good  souls  who  learned,  too  late,  the  shock- 
ing state  of  my  case.  Thanks  to  them,  I  slept 
well  thereafter  in  a  real  bed,  and  was  sure  of  din- 
ners that  would  n't  rattle  in  me  like  a  withered 
kernel  in  an  old  nutshell. 

I  had  but  to  walk  to  the  beach,  wave  my  lily 
hand,  heavily  tanned  about  that  time,  when  lo  !  a 
boat  was  immediately  despatched  from  the  plump 
little  corvette  Cheveret,  where  the  tricolor  waved 
triumphantly  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  all  the  year 
round. 

Such  capital  French  dinners  as  I  had  there,  such 
offers  of  bed  and  board  and  boundless  sympathy 
as  were  made  me  by  those  dear  fellows  who  wore 
the  gold-lace  and  had  a  piratical-looking  cabin  all 


A  PRODIGAL  IN   TAHITI.  353 

to  themselves,  were  enough  to  wring  a  heart  that 
had  been  nearly  wrung  out  in  its  battle  with  life 
in  Tahiti. 

No  longer  I  walked  the  streets  as  one  smitten 
with  the  plague,  or  revolved  in  envious  circles 
about  the  market-place,  where  I  could  have  got 
my  fill  for  a  half-dollar,  but  had  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other.  No  longer  I  went  at  daybreak  to 
swell  the  procession  at  the  water-spout,  or  sat  on 
the  shore  the  picture  of  despair,  waiting  sunrise, 
finding  it  my  sole  happiness  to  watch  a  canoe-load 
of  children  driftirig  out  upon  the  bay,  singing  like 
a  railful  of  larks ;  nor  walked  solitarily  through 
the  night  up  and  down  the-  narrow  streets  where- 
in the  gendarmes  had  learned  to  pass  me  unnoticed, 
with  my  hat  under  my  arm  and  my  heart  in  my 
throat.  Those  delicious  moons  always  seduced  me 
from  my  natural  sleep,  and  I  sauntered  through 
the  cocoa-groves  whose  boughs  glistened  like  row 
after  row  of  crystals,  whose  shadows  were  as  mo- 
saics wrought  in  blocks  of  silver. 

I  used  to  nod  at  the  low,  whitewashed  "cala- 
booses "  fairly  steaming  in  the  sun,  wherein  Her- 
man Melville  got  some  chapters  of  "  Omoo." 

Over  and  over  again  I  tracked  the  ground  of 
that  delicious  story,  saying  to  the  bread-fruit 
trees  that  had  sheltered  him,  "  Shelter  me  also, 
and  whoever  shall  follow  after,  so  long  as  your 
branches  quiver  in  the  wind  !  " 

0  reader  of  "Omoo,"  think  of  " Motoo-Otoo," 

w 


354  SOUTH-SEA  IDYLS. 

actually  looking  warlike  in  these  sad  days,  with  a 
row  of  new  cannons  around  its  edge,  and  pyramids 
of  balls  as  big  as  cocoa-nuts  covering  its  shady 
centre. 

Walking  alone  in  those  splendid  nights  I  used 
to  hear  a  dry,  ominous  coughing  in  the  huts  of 
the  natives.  I  felt  as  though  I  were  treading 
upon  the  brinks  of  half-dug  graves,  and  I  longed 
to  bring  a  respite  to  the  doomed  race. 

One  windy  afternoon  we  cut  our  stern  hawser 
in  a  fair  wind  and  sailed  out  of  the  harbor;  I  felt 
a  sense  of  relief,  and  moralized  for  five  minutes 
without  stopping.  Then  I  turned  away  from  all 
listeners  and  saw  those,  glorious  green  peaks  grow- 
ing dim  in  the  distance  ;  the  clouds  embraced  them 
in  their  profound  secrecy  ;  like  a  lovely  mirage 
Tahiti  floated  upon  the  bosom  of  the  sea.  Be- 
tween sea  and  sky  was  swallowed  up  vale,  garden, 
and  waterfall;  point  after  point  crowded  with 
palms ;  peak  above  peak  in  that  eternal  crown  of 
beauty ;  and  with  them  the  nation  of  warriors  and 
lovers  falling  like  the  leaf,  but,  unlike  it,  with  no 
followers  in  the  new  season. 


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